Online quizzes and privacy: what's safe to share

Quizzes are fun, and most are harmless. But every quiz asks you to share something about yourself, and some websites use that curiosity to collect far more than they need. A few simple habits let you enjoy quizzes without giving away information you'll regret.

Watch out for "security question" answers

Many accounts, from email to banking apps, use security questions like "What was the name of your first pet?", "What was your first school?" or "What is your mother's maiden name?". Some quizzes ask exactly these things in a playful way. Posting those answers publicly can make it easier for someone to break into your accounts. Skip any quiz question that sounds like a password reset question.

Signs of a quiz site to avoid

• It asks you to log in with your social media account, or asks for your password, phone number or an OTP. A real quiz never needs an OTP.
• It wants access to your contacts, photos or friends list.
• It promises prizes, recharges or cash for sharing the link.
• It has no privacy policy, or you can't tell who runs it.
• It redirects you through several pages of ads before showing a result.

What's safe to share

Tastes and habits are generally fine: your favourite snack, your music taste, whether you're a night owl. Use a nickname instead of your full name. Avoid sharing your address, school or office name together with your photo, your date of birth, or anything about your finances or health.

Sharing results

• Before posting a scoreboard screenshot, check whether it shows other people's names, and blur them if they wouldn't want it public.
• Keep private links private. On Fake or Fam, the scoreboard link contains a secret key; share only the quiz link.
• Delete quizzes you no longer want online. Fake or Fam deletes everything after 90 days anyway, and the creator can delete earlier from the scoreboard.

How Fake or Fam handles it

We built Fake or Fam to need as little as possible: no account, no email or phone number, only a nickname. Answers are checked on our server, quizzes expire after 90 days, and our privacy policy lists exactly what is stored. Our questions are about everyday tastes, not security questions.

A note for parents

If your child enjoys online quizzes, talk about which details are private (full name, school, address, phone number, photos) and agree that they will never enter a password or OTP into a game or quiz. Keeping the conversation open works better than banning quizzes completely.