To dox someone means to publicly reveal or publish private, personally identifiable information about that person on the internet without their consent. This information can include home addresses, phone numbers, workplace details, social security numbers, bank account information, private correspondence, or other sensitive data. The intent behind doxing often involves harassment, intimidation, or punishment, and it can be used as a form of cyberbullying, revenge, or exposure, sometimes even escalating conflicts from online to real life. The term originated from hacker culture in the 1990s as "dropping dox," referring to releasing documents about someone’s identity. Today, doxing carries a negative connotation as it violates privacy and can cause significant harm to the targeted individual.
Key points about doxing:
- It involves gathering and publicizing private information without permission.
- Motivations can include revenge, intimidation, exposing wrongdoing, or harassment.
- It can lead to various harms including cyberbullying, identity theft, threats, or offline harassment.
- Originally a hacker tactic to expose anonymous opponents, now more widespread and incorporates social media information.
This practice raises serious privacy and safety concerns and is generally viewed as malicious behavior online.
