Hosts: How to Keep Safe Online

by Della
4 March 2025
From the Secretary, How to...
2 Comments

With the rise of antisemitism around the world, we all need to consider ways to keep ourselves and our identities safe online. This includes our presence on the HIT website.

Things HIT is trying to do to keep hosts and travellers safe

We take our duty of care seriously. Therefore:

We have installed WordFence security to block attacks and to keep our website and your login safe.
No one can see your email address (or other contact details)—all communication between you and your Israeli visitors is through our internal messaging system. But this means you need to check your inbox regularly.
We never give out your contact details without your permission.

Plus, we have written clear, detailed instructions that should be followed carefully to keep you safer. For all instruction pages, please go to: www.hitinternational.net/blog-posts-module.

Things hosts can do to keep themselves safer

Guard Against Facial Recognition Software and Malware

When uploading photos, NEVER upload full facial photos anywhere online. To protect yourself from face recognition software, please use:

a photo taken from the side or back view

a photo from a distance

a silhouette

you and your family in shadow

a photo with your face obscured or blurred – make it fun and let your personality shine

a photo with your pet

*Other eamples of the types of photos to upload to make your profile personal and welcoming,*
*without falling prey to anti-semitic face recognition software.*

Please keep your face safe online by deleting all full facial photos from your HIT profile. See this instruction page on how to amend/update your hosting profile: www.hitinternational.net/edit-profile

Keep your Home Address Safe

Never type your whole street address—but please indicate your nearest town/city, your state/province, and your country (in English).
Never upload photos of your property from the street view which will help anti-semites identify where you live. Only upload interior photos or backyard photos—not the view from the road.

Keep your Location Safe on the HIT map

When placing your pin on the HIT map, never put it in the exact location (though nearby is helpful).

See this blog for further instructions on how to check your pin on the HIT map: www.hitinternational.net/map-pin

Check that every guest is a verified member of HIT

When Israelis contact you, ALWAYS ask for their HIT Profile link (it will look something like this: https://hitinternational.net/user/gadol/)—please check that they are VERIFIED travellers.
Always check that EVERY Israeli visitor in the party is a verified member of HIT—if not, please ask each of them to register and submit a copy of their Israeli ID card for verification.
When they arrive at your home, always ask them to show their Israeli ID card. REPORT anyone claiming to be Israeli but they are not.

Check that you are a verified host

The flipside is that you need to check if you are a verified host. Please go to your profile and ensure it says VERIFIED – go to www.hitinternational.net/edit-profile. If your profile is not yet verified, please contact us to be verified.

Thank you for keeping us all safe!

We all need to do our part in ensuring that we are “wise as serpents and gentle as doves” (Matthew 10:16) – thank you for being a part of HIT and giving Israelis a safe place to stay.

May the God of Israel bless you for blessing His Covenant people as they travel.

Della

Secretary

HIT international

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Hosts: How to Keep Safe Online

Things HIT is trying to do to keep hosts and travellers safe

Things hosts can do to keep themselves safer