Hide "caching activity" from a particular Geocacher

[+HTBob]

Just wondering if I can turn off my page/logs from a particular geocacher that is apparently stalking me and my activity, the places I go and visit. Grrr.

[+Huntleigh]

Just wondering if I can turn off my page/logs from a particular geocacher that is apparently stalking me and my activity, the places I go and visit. Grrr.

 

Logging a cache on geocaching.com is a public event, a sort of blog. You can't really hide it from anyone.

 

If you don't want someone to see your finds, don't log them.

 

If you're one of those for who the numbers do matter, you may be able to log your finds on GSAK and generate stats that way?

[+Isonzo Karst]

turn off my page/logs from a particular geocacher

 

No, you can not.

 

You can stop logging finds on caches, accepting completed on challenges, and stop uploading images. Your other logs (notes DNFs etc) aren't searchable by other cachers. All your logs on your owned caches are viewable.

 

You could simply post notes instead of finds, for a time, and later change those to finds. My guess is you can outlast any stalker, likely in a couple of months of logging notes only.

 

I'd bookmark the caches as i was doing this, to track where the note needs to be changed.

Downside is that you'll have to postpone any image uploads. It's hard to do those later (at least for me ).

 

If your stalker contacts you inappropriately through the Geocaching.com email system, forward that email with a complaint to contact@geocaching.com

[+StarBrand]

Just out of curiosity....

 

What exactly leads you to believe you are being stalked by another?? Especially given that your logs reflect where you were and what you were doing in the past - not the present or future.

[jholly]

If you don't want your finds to show up then add the caches to your ignore list. The side effect is your count will not go up. The logs on the individual caches will be there, but but t he caches will not be in your profile. If at some time in the future you wish to have things back to normal you can delete the found caches from your ignore list.

[+Isonzo Karst]

If you don't want your finds to show up then add the caches to your ignore list. The side effect is your count will not go up. The logs on the individual caches will be there, but but t he caches will not be in your profile.

 

I don't think this is true.

But you can check, go to my profile, Isonzo Karst and look at my recent finds.

 

If any the 3 Gold Head: caches show, then this technique won't work. I just added 3 of them to my Ignore list (which I've never used).

As far as I can see, logged in under a different account, they appear on my public profile, and no find count is lost.

Edited August 16, 2012 by Isonzo Karst

[+StarBrand]

If you don't want your finds to show up then add the caches to your ignore list. The side effect is your count will not go up. The logs on the individual caches will be there, but but t he caches will not be in your profile.

 

I don't think this is true.

But you can check, go to my profile, Isonzo Karst and look at my recent finds.

 

If any the 3 Gold Head: caches show, then this technique won't work. I just added 3 of them to my Ignore list (which I've never used).

As far as I can see, logged in under a different account, they appear on my public profile, and no find count is lost.

I see them all.

[jholly]

If you don't want your finds to show up then add the caches to your ignore list. The side effect is your count will not go up. The logs on the individual caches will be there, but but t he caches will not be in your profile.

 

I don't think this is true.

But you can check, go to my profile, Isonzo Karst and look at my recent finds.

 

If any the 3 Gold Head: caches show, then this technique won't work. I just added 3 of them to my Ignore list (which I've never used).

As far as I can see, logged in under a different account, they appear on my public profile, and no find count is lost.

Guess it got "fixed", use to work that way.

[+Ike 13]

What do you mean by stalking?

 

If they are sending emails to you that you feel are inappropriate you can forward them to Groundspeak.

 

If they are trying to just follow you then don't log right away.

[+Team Dennis]

You could always create a sock puppet (aka fake) account and use it for all of your logging.

[+HTBob]

It shouldn't be that hard for Groundspeak to create a way of "blocking" certain people from seeing your activity. Facebook and many other public forums have that feature. It gives us the option to "unfriend" someone, but it really doesn't do anything since we can be found from our "logs".

And no, I'm not getting inappropriate emails, it's someone I used to cache with and now they are upset that I'm caching with someone else, and every cache I find with that new person shows what I've "been up to". When you live in a small town, there are only so many cachers, stuff gets back to you that could only be accessed from searching my recent "finds". I'd just like to be able to block that person from seeing stuff they have no business seeing anyway. I shouldn't have to quit logging caches or give up my hobby.

[+cerberus1]

Similar to what Team Dennis said, the person keeping tabs on you could create a sock account just to bypass your "block" - if they were that desperate.

I'm pretty sure that logging your finds online gives up most expectations you may have of privacy. Your activities online follow you.

I just googled "hide caching activity" and this thread came up. Googling your name/caching produced quite a few logs and your hides.

- So anyone really wanting to keep an eye on you probably wouldn't have much trouble doing so, even if blocked here.

May be best to believe that sooner or later, they'll lose interest.

[+Ike 13]

It shouldn't be that hard for Groundspeak to create a way of "blocking" certain people from seeing your activity. Facebook and many other public forums have that feature. It gives us the option to "unfriend" someone, but it really doesn't do anything since we can be found from our "logs".

And no, I'm not getting inappropriate emails, it's someone I used to cache with and now they are upset that I'm caching with someone else, and every cache I find with that new person shows what I've "been up to". When you live in a small town, there are only so many cachers, stuff gets back to you that could only be accessed from searching my recent "finds". I'd just like to be able to block that person from seeing stuff they have no business seeing anyway. I shouldn't have to quit logging caches or give up my hobby.

So is this person harassing you about it? Or just making side comments to their friends? I 'stalk' lots of peoples accounts to see what caches they do. It usually leads me to find cool caches that I would not find out about otherwise.

[cezanne]

It shouldn't be that hard for Groundspeak to create a way of "blocking" certain people from seeing your activity. Facebook and many other public forums have that feature. It gives us the option to "unfriend" someone, but it really doesn't do anything since we can be found from our "logs".

And no, I'm not getting inappropriate emails, it's someone I used to cache with and now they are upset that I'm caching with someone else, and every cache I find with that new person shows what I've "been up to". When you live in a small town, there are only so many cachers, stuff gets back to you that could only be accessed from searching my recent "finds". I'd just like to be able to block that person from seeing stuff they have no business seeing anyway. I shouldn't have to quit logging caches or give up my hobby.

So is this person harassing you about it? Or just making side comments to their friends? I 'stalk' lots of peoples accounts to see what caches they do. It usually leads me to find cool caches that I would not find out about otherwise.

 

It neither sounds like haraassing nor like stalking. I follow the logs of many cachers in my area regardless of whether I know them in person or not. Reading logs contributes much to my enjoyment of geocaching. If a cacher decides to tell in his/her logs that he went caching with XXX, then it is not surprising that also others will learn about.

What is written in logs is definitely written for the public.

 

 

Cezanne

[+cerberus1]

So is this person harassing you about it? Or just making side comments to their friends? I 'stalk' lots of peoples accounts to see what caches they do. It usually leads me to find cool caches that I would not find out about otherwise.

 

I agree.

I often look at folks accounts (who's interests are similar to mine) to maybe spot an awesome area/cache I wasn't aware of and know a few who look at ours for the same.

[jholly]

It shouldn't be that hard for Groundspeak to create a way of "blocking" certain people from seeing your activity. Facebook and many other public forums have that feature. It gives us the option to "unfriend" someone, but it really doesn't do anything since we can be found from our "logs".

And no, I'm not getting inappropriate emails, it's someone I used to cache with and now they are upset that I'm caching with someone else, and every cache I find with that new person shows what I've "been up to". When you live in a small town, there are only so many cachers, stuff gets back to you that could only be accessed from searching my recent "finds". I'd just like to be able to block that person from seeing stuff they have no business seeing anyway. I shouldn't have to quit logging caches or give up my hobby.

Did you ever sit down and think about what you just did here? This person does this because they know it gets your goat. They did it with the caches you found, now your blasting your angst all over the internet. They are having a really good chuckle now. Congratulations on being a very good game piece. You really need to take a deep breath, exhale slowly and think pleasant thoughts. Then get on with your life as if this person is not there. Too bad your profile doesn't have a view counter, that sucker would be clicking over like mad now. So someone can see your logs and can see what caches you found. So what? How does that affect the price of rice in China? Your spending way to much time worrying about things that don't need to be worried about. You can take it to the bank that LOTS of people have been looking over your logs now.

[+dprovan]

As I see it, there are two possibilities. One possibility is that you're overreacting. The other possibility is that you have a much bigger problem than the geocaching issue. Since this appears to have once been your friend and cohort, have you considered, oh, I don't know, talking to them about it?

 

Like others, I often look at logs, and I take particular interest in the logs of people I've cached with, sometimes going through their logs to follow their latest adventure. So I think we're all missing the "...and then he does this" that makes the situation worthy of concern. Without it, it sounds like you just have an admirer.

[+niraD]

It shouldn't be that hard for Groundspeak to create a way of "blocking" certain people from seeing your activity.

Sure, it's just a Simple Matter Of Programming.

 

This kind of feature needs to be designed into a system from the beginning. Given that the system wasn't designed with this kind of access restriction, adding it now will require redesigning and rewriting a lot of the existing system.

[+HTBob]

Ok, Nevermind.

I was looking for a technological answer, which I did get, "No, It can't be done", not a sociological answer or relationship help.

Thank you. You may all go about your day now.

Edited August 17, 2012 by HTBob

[BoredRoom]

A technological answer would be a feature where you would be able to have privacy settings that would allow you to hide your logs from everyone.

 

This has been suggested as a feature, and appears to have been taken under consideration:

 

SUBMITTED (24896) - [FEATURE] Request for Private Profile Page

[+hzoi]

Sociology aside, there are limits to what people can see on a given profile.

 

If someone clicks on my profile, all they can see is the past activity I've chosen to display. Found it logs, TBs discovered, etc. They can't see if I'm at a cache now, and they can't see where I'm planning to go this weekend. Except for tomorrow at lunch, since I logged "Will Attend" at our event tomorrow.

 

Someone might be able to discern the general area I live or work based on the areas I have the most hides or finds, but they're only going to get more specific if I tell them one way or another. And they're not going to know where specifically I am at any given point unless I use a mobile device and specify in a cache log that I am right now logging this cache. So if instead I note the caches I found today and then wait until tomorrow, or next week, they won't know until I log my find that I've been to a particular cache.

 

So you can control the data from your end, either by restricting it, or delaying it, or both. Others can only see what I allow them to see when I add the content.

 

As far as restricting what data a particular user can access once you've added content, no, currently the site doesn't allow for it, and I don't know that there are plans to add it. But, if you can demonstrate that another user is abusing the terms of use for the website, notify Groundspeak about it. If you think it's worse than that, civil or criminal redress may be appropriate.

[AZcachemeister]

I would like to think there are dozens of cachers watching my every move...

 

 

 

 

Too bad there probably aren't.

[Keystone]

I split off a number of posts about adding a "Flag Counter" on a profile page into their own thread - so as not to take this discussion off topic.

[+Crow-T-Robot]

You could also change your username. The system will automatically update your name and transfer all of your finds to your new name so you don't have to relog them (for a sock puppet account, if you want your previous finds, you'll have to go back and relog them under your new account...if you have alot of finds, that can be incredibly tedious). As long as the name isn't already taken, you can change it to whatever you want.

 

If the stalker is persistant, they could still figure out your new name by going to a cache the two of you logged together and seeing your new name....but who knows? They might just let it go.