Yogi Berra once quoted, "Never answer an anonymous letter." The word anonymous was first recorded in the mid-16th century (as a noun meaning "an anonymous person": via late Latin from Greek anōnumos "nameless" (from an- 'without' + onoma 'name') + -ous.

The reason why an individual chooses anonymity in today's society, especially as it relates to their digital online presence, is often based upon privacy concerns for their personal or financial information. This is a legitimate concern due to an increase in data breaches and cyber threats that may expose an individual's personal identifiable information. A recent Harvard Business Review article provided that there was a 20% increase in data breaches from 2022 to 2023. There is, however, a downside associated with online anonymity where studies have shown that people are more likely to behave in a dishonest or morally questionable way when they can hide behind their anonymity.