Skip to main content
mySites.guru

Active Joomla Extension security alerts: SP Page Builder zero dayGridbox: 23 criticalJCE 2.9.99.10

Anonymize Data Before Taking Screenshots

Anonymize Data Before Taking Screenshots

We love that people share screenshots of our Joomla and WordPress management tools, but doing so can reveal live site names, customer names, and URLs. You probably don’t want those immortalized in images, and neither do we.

So we built a way to anonymize all that data right in the browser.

How does it work?

Append ?anon=1 to any URL in your mySites.guru account and all site names, URLs, tags, usernames, and avatars are instantly replaced with randomized data.

Try it: https://manage.mysites.guru/en/sites/?anon=1

mySites.guru dashboard with anonymized site names, URLs, tags, and user data via ?anon=1

In the screenshot above, “Ethan Martinez” is a fake name generated on the fly. Every name, URL, and avatar on the page is randomized.

This works on every page in mySites.guru. If you’re writing a blog post, giving a presentation, or sharing your setup on social media, just add ?anon=1 and take your screenshot.

Credits

The anonymized data comes from a couple of open-source projects:

If you spot one of those little robot faces, now you know why they’re there.


Practical tips like this are part of our multi-site management guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I hide my clients' site names and URLs when sharing a mySites.guru screenshot?
Append ?anon=1 to any mySites.guru URL and all site names, URLs, and user data are instantly replaced with randomised values.
What data does the ?anon=1 parameter replace?
It replaces site names, URLs, tags, usernames, avatars, and other personal data with randomly generated values using open-source libraries.
Does anonymization work on every page in mySites.guru?
Yes. You can append ?anon=1 to any URL inside your mySites.guru account and all personal data on that page will be anonymized.
Can I use anonymized screenshots in blog posts or marketing materials?
Yes. That is exactly what the feature is for. It lets you share screenshots publicly without revealing client site names, URLs, or personal details.
Where do the fake names and avatars come from?
Usernames, names, and avatars come from the randomuser.me API. Robot avatars come from robohash.org. Both are open-source projects.

What our users say

Accredited Design LLC
Accredited Design LLCManaging Member
★★★★★

I've been with mySites.guru for years now, and it's a central function of my business. Managing multiple site updates at once has saved me untold hours of work to have otherwise needed to login to many sites individually. The other tools to remove unnecessary files, automate backups of websites and scan for malicious code are also extremely helpful. On many occasions, timely warnings from Phil Taylor about security holes in components, plugins and core CMS updates have saved me a lot of grief before bad things happened to my websites. When bad updates have already broken my websites, Phil was always two steps ahead and has surgically accurate information readily available to fix them. Sure, there are other similar services and self-hosted solutions out there, but having all of the things I've mentioned in one place and on one control panel are worth the price of admission in my book. Thank you Phil for all your hard work and for the service you provide to the Joomla and Wordpress communities!

Read more reviews
Ben Thoma
Ben ThomaHinterhof Agentur
★★★★★

We manage around 100 Joomla projects and are very happy that mysites.guru takes so much work off our hands. This makes regular Joomla maintenance a profitable business for us.

Read more reviews

Read all 265 reviews →

Ready to Take Control?

Start with a free site audit. No credit card required.

Get Your Free Site Audit