WIL WHEATON dot TUMBLR
PSA: When you ask yourself an anonymous question

lorim:

Say you spot a stranger on the street, blissfully unaware of her skirt tucked into her tights, and she’s walking around with her thong exposed. Or a coworker is talking to you with a piece of spinach in their teeth. You’d tell them, right? Even if it’s a bit awkward.

Friends and Tumblrs: your fly is open.

Here’s the loophole I’ve discovered: on my phone app (Android), I can see when a user asks themselves an “anonymous” question. The cloak of anonymous works fine when seen in a web browser, and maybe even on an iPhone, so it’s possible users are totally unaware of this exposure. But on my phone, the Tumblr’s username and photo appear as the ask as well as the answer, and in the answer they’re addressing themselves as anonymous. It’s amusing (but not in the schadenfreude way), and kind of sweet. Frankly, I understand the approach of a little Q&A to express yourself. Still, I won’t demonstrate this discovery with screen shots.

So you’ve been warned. Your choice if you wanna zip up that fly.

  1. silly-maureen reblogged this from lorim
  2. becauserachel reblogged this from wilwheaton
  3. vegas-spectacle reblogged this from snoipahkat
  4. vivalanerdolution reblogged this from savannahrodgers
  5. ticodex reblogged this from junosomething
  6. junosomething reblogged this from wilwheaton and added:
    (In case you missed it)
  7. gamingtimeladyfromgallifrey reblogged this from wilwheaton
  8. boomdeyada reblogged this from wilwheaton and added:
    I have no idea how the hell this bug works (I mean obviously tumblr stores who sent anonymous asks for abuse purposes...
  9. ne-bih-znala reblogged this from stileswashere
  10. stileswashere reblogged this from wilwheaton
  11. sevenpoints reblogged this from wilwheaton and added:
    ETA: I just tested this and all anonymous messages appear as having been sent by the person responding.
  12. jenarwen reblogged this from wilwheaton
  13. jorowlingisagoddess reblogged this from wilwheaton
  14. natfish reblogged this from wmattingly01 and added:
    Okay, I just thought this was some sort of glitch when I got my Android. I need proof that this is real. Because if so,...
  15. mindypoowho reblogged this from wmattingly01 and added:
    AGAIN THIS IS A GLITCH. Nobody actually does this…
  16. wmattingly01 reblogged this from lorim and added:
    watch people do....wasn’t going to say anything because
  17. bitteryounghag reblogged this from sofudgeaswell and added:
    haven’t fixed yet. Silly goons.
  18. fastfallingstars reblogged this from alexandraerin
  19. sofudgeaswell reblogged this from sofudgeaswell and added:
    actually, it shows your URL regardless of whether you send yourself an anonymous message or someone else does. I just...
  20. azul-pye reblogged this from wilwheaton
  21. alexandraerin reblogged this from lorim
  22. vixyish reblogged this from wilwheaton and added:
    Reading all the other notes on this, it looks like the Android app shows the user name and photo on ALL anonymous...
  23. feigenbaumsworld reblogged this from morganoperandi and added:
    So, I tested this theory out and apparently it attaches your face to all anonymous posts on your Android now. I had...
  24. shinobivsdragon reblogged this from wilwheaton
  25. sindeecyanide reblogged this from wilwheaton and added:
    Pretty sure it’s just the Tumblr apps being messed up. There is an easy way to test this, though. Just get your friends...
  26. morganoperandi reblogged this from wilwheaton
  27. mayasownmenagerie reblogged this from wilwheaton
  28. musingsofaraven reblogged this from wilwheaton and added:
    I didn’t even realize people did this. I just asked myself the questions as myself, like a crazy person, lol :D
  29. everythingshallpass reblogged this from missatralissa and added:
    got a handful of angry racist anons the other day and was accused of sending them
  30. missatralissa reblogged this from kuroboshi
  31. aseriousbibliophile reblogged this from wilwheaton
  32. c-d-e reblogged this from wilwheaton and added:
    It’s false. Anons on the tumblr app will show up as someone asking themselves. Or worse, put the answer in the question...