this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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Privacy

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More often than not, the best way to hide is to simply blend in with the crowds -- this also encompasses one's choice for a username. It is relatively simple to make a single throwaway account -- just come up with a username, and off you go -- however, if one makes throwaway accounts often, the task of thinking of a unique, and non-identifiable username can become a challenge. I would argue that poeple would often resort to using a pattern employing small changes for all subsequent usernames. Such patterns can be identified to a specific user if all users have their own unique patterns.

How can one reliably generate many unique-but-normal, and non-pattern-identifiable usernames?

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[–] davel@lemmy.ml 27 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

$ diceware -n2

UnfixableHappy

$

[–] nik282000@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 years ago

Go to reddit, pick a username from the front page, use that. Any searching into your use of it will lead to that front page post and its reposts on click mills.

[–] NightOwl@lemmy.one 11 points 2 years ago

There's user name generators. Even fantasy name generators too so it's not a weird jumble of letters and numbers like a password.

[–] Lemmchen@feddit.de 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I let Bitwarden generate my usernames for throwaway accounts. I don't care if my username can be identified as Bitwarden-generated.

[–] DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Pick a random book from your shelf.

  • Open at a random page. Take the first word on the left page.
  • Open at another random page. Take the first word on the left page

Repeat for as many words you like. Discard words you don’t like. Slam the words you like together.

Examples:

  • thickestneedhelped
  • ritestayoutdoors
  • passedthejust
[–] ExLisper@linux.community 9 points 2 years ago

I see a pattern here...

[–] MayonnaiseArch@beehaw.org 6 points 2 years ago

Well I love your name 😍 one of the best characters

[–] sxan@midwest.social 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I don't create anon accounts nearly as much as you say you do, but when I do I a correct-horse generator, and just pick the first two words and mash them together. It has never produced a conflict yet.

keepass2android's password generator can generate these on mobile, and there are several for the command line.

[–] Thisfox@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 years ago

I, too, was immediately going to recommend correct horse. It is random and it works.

[–] python@programming.dev 4 points 2 years ago

Try random real words until you hit one that's free! Those are the most satisfying usernames anyway imo haha

[–] LWD@lemm.ee 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)
[–] Hephoh2@feddit.de 2 points 2 years ago

$ pwgen 8 100

[–] guyrocket@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)
[–] vaselined@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

They do. You can use passphrase generator of any pw manager. Bitwarden has a nice one

[–] guyrocket@kbin.social 2 points 2 years ago

Interesting. I also found the url above.

[–] pound_heap@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

I use SimpleLogin for email alias, and username usually has to be associated with email address. So I just use whatever SimpleLogin generates for me

[–] AnnaFrankfurter@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago

I usually just use a fake name generator to create a name and use it as a username this takes care of my inability to think of random usernames, birth date and other stuff that most websites these days ask. And it also makes me look like another dumb idiot and not a l33t haxor.