Hi Tony.
Open forums like this and most others, are available for the public to read, and therefore have never offered privacy over content posted. The public sees only what we have volunteered to contribute. Our emails are not divulged unless we post them. Changing your username from your actual personal name to an 'internet persona' helps. Some folks may be unaware that photos they take of layouts, etc, on a smartphone and post contain the precise location where that photo was taken (i.e. the address where the layout was). This can be switched off on any smartphone so photos do not contain location information. Having said that, it is relatively easy to ensure one does not divulge personal information nor security information in the content of ones postings by just being common sense careful (e.g. like going away on hols, etc, full names, addresses, phone numbers, etc). Bear in mind Goggle maps and Google street view already have a photo of every home and work place.
Noel