You will create your Wikipedia account, learn how to protect your identity while editing, and build your user page. By the end, you will have a working account ready for the rest of this training.
Section 1 of 6
Why you need an account
You can technically edit Wikipedia without logging in. But if you do, your IP address, which can reveal your approximate location, gets permanently attached to every edit. Anyone can see it. It does not expire.
For people editing articles about contested policy issues or anything politically charged, that is a real risk. An account keeps your IP hidden and ties your work to a username you control.
Beyond safety, an account gives you practical tools:
Watchlist
Track articles you care about and see when someone changes them.
Talk page access
Communicate with other editors and join WikiProjects like WP:LATINOS.
Autoconfirmed status
After 4 days and 10 edits, you can edit certain protected pages. Some articles on sensitive topics are locked to new accounts.
Credibility
A consistent edit history earns trust from other editors and makes your work harder to dismiss.
Creating an account takes about five minutes. You are going to do it right now, or confirm the one you already have is set up safely.
Check your understanding
Why is editing without an account risky for people working on sensitive topics?
Wikipedia bans anonymous editors after a certain number of edits
Your IP address is permanently visible, which can reveal your location
Anonymous edits are automatically reviewed by moderators
You cannot edit articles longer than 1,000 words
Your IP address is permanently visible on every anonymous edit. For editors working on contested topics, this can expose location and identity. An account keeps that hidden.
Not quite. The main risk is that your IP address, which can reveal your approximate location, is permanently visible on every edit made without an account.
Section 2 of 6
Choosing a username
Your username is your identity on Wikipedia. Changing it later is possible but messy, and your old name still appears in edit histories. Pick carefully.
The rule: nothing that connects to your real identity. No real name, no location, no workplace, no school. This matters especially for the kind of editing WikiLatinos Learning Platform focuses on.
These work
ArticleArchitect
LatineEditor24
CoastalFacts
PageBuilder99
Creative, unrevealing, memorable
These give you away
Maria_Lopez_NYC
Real name + city
PPActionVolunteer
Organizational affiliation
UTexas2025
School + year
Wikipedia also blocks usernames that impersonate real people, contain offensive language, or look like advertisements.
Take a minute to think about yours before moving on.
Check your understanding
Which username best protects your identity?
JessicaR_Denver
ReproJusticeOrganizer
CoastalFacts42
UnivOfTexasVolunteer
CoastalFacts42 reveals nothing about your name, location, affiliation, or school. The others each expose something that could identify you.
Not quite. Look for the username that reveals the least about who you are offline. Names, locations, organizations, and schools are all identifiers.
Section 3 of 6
Creating your account
Open a new tab and follow along.
Step by step
1
Go to wikipedia.org and click "Create account" in the top right corner.
2
Enter your username. Wikipedia tells you immediately if it is taken. Try variations until one works.
3
Create a strong, unique password. Do not reuse one from another account.
4
Enter an email address. If you are privacy-conscious, create a separate email just for Wikipedia. Do not use your work email or one with your real name.
5
Complete the CAPTCHA and click "Create your account."
Check this setting right away: Go to Preferences (click your username, then Preferences). Under the Email tab, find "Allow other users to email me." If your email is tied to your real identity, turn this off.
Practice
Create your account
If you already have one through WikiLatinos Learning Platform's Wikipedia login, confirm your settings are safe. If not, create one now.
Account created (or confirmed existing account)
Username does not reveal personal information
Email is separate from personal/work email (or email feature is disabled)
Checked "Allow other users to email me" setting in Preferences
Account is set up and secure. You are ready to start editing.
Check your understanding
Which email should you use for your Wikipedia account?
Your work email (yourname@organization.org)
Your personal Gmail that includes your full name
A new email created specifically for Wikipedia
Skip the email step entirely
A new email that does not include your real name. Work and personal emails connect to your identity. Skipping email entirely means you cannot reset your password.
Not quite. The safest option is a dedicated email that does not contain your real name or connect to your employer.
Section 4 of 6
Your user page
Every account comes with a user page at User:YourUsername. Think of it as a brief introduction to who you are as an editor, not who you are as a person. That distinction matters.
What to include: Your editing interests ("I work on articles about public health policy"), languages you edit in, and any WikiProjects you join. This signals you are here to do real work.
What to leave out: Real name, city, employer, school, photos of yourself, personal social media. Some experienced editors choose to be public about their identity after years on the platform. As a new editor, start anonymous. You can always share more later. You cannot take it back.
Practice
Set up your user page
Click your username at the top of Wikipedia to find your user page. Click Edit.
Added 1-2 sentences about your editing interests
Listed the languages you work in
Confirmed no personal information is on the page
Saved with a clear edit summary
Your user page is set. Other editors can now see who you are as a contributor.
Check your understanding
Which is appropriate for your user page?
Your full name and city
A link to your organization's website
Your editing interests and languages you work in
Your personal Instagram handle
Editing interests and languages. Your user page should describe you as an editor, not identify you as a person.
Not quite. Real name, organization links, and social media all create connections to your offline identity. Stick to editing interests and languages.
Section 5 of 6
Staying safe on Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a public platform. Everything you edit is visible. Your edit history builds over time. For editors on sensitive topics, some awareness is useful.
What Wikipedia makes public: Every edit you make is logged permanently with your username, a timestamp, and the article. Your user page and talk page are visible to anyone. Your full edit history can be browsed by any user.
What stays hidden (with an account): Your IP address, your real name (unless you posted it), your location (unless you revealed it).
A pattern to watch: If you only ever edit articles about one narrow topic or one organization, it can draw attention. Wikipedia editors sometimes investigate new accounts on politically sensitive content for signs of organized editing or conflict of interest. This does not mean you should avoid your areas of interest. It means edit naturally, follow the policies from Module 1, and do not restrict yourself to a single narrow lane.
If you experience harassment: Aggressive talk page messages, someone following your edits to revert them, any form of intimidation. Do not engage directly. Document it (screenshots, diffs) and report it at WP:ANI (Administrators' Noticeboard for Incidents). You can also reach out to the WikiLatinos Learning Platform community through Discord.
Check your understanding
Which of the following is visible to anyone on Wikipedia?
Your IP address (when logged in)
Your complete edit history with timestamps
Your registered email address
Your real name (unless you added it yourself)
Your complete edit history with timestamps. IP is hidden when logged in. Email is only visible through Wikipedia's internal email function. Real name only if you posted it yourself.
Not quite. Your edit history, including every article you touched and when, is visible to anyone. The other items are either hidden or only visible if you chose to share them.
Section 6 of 6
What comes next
You now have a Wikipedia account, a username that protects your identity, and a user page that introduces you as an editor. These are the foundations for everything else in this training.
Module 3 is where the hands-on practice starts. You will open your sandbox, learn Wikipedia formatting, create links, write citations, and get comfortable with the tools before touching a live article.
Module 2 complete
Account created, identity protected, user page set. Next up: your sandbox, where you get to break things without consequences.