In an odd turn of events, Tom McKay, a former writer for Gizmodo, figured out a unique technique to stay anonymous after quitting the firm in 2022. He went under the moniker “Slackbot” and successfully hid in plain sight on the well-known chat app Slack, eluding Gizmodo’s management for months.
In a post on X, McKay showed off screenshots of his new “Slackbot” character and explained his hilarious prank. He also provided The Verge with confirmation of the prank, illuminating this playful yet successful means of staying anonymous.
For those who don’t know, Slackbot is an automated helper that helps users with a variety of activities on Slack, such as giving information and making reminders. After leaving Gizmodo, McKay cleverly changed his name to “Slackbot” and his profile image to mimic an angrier version of Slackbot’s emblem.
Changing one’s name to “Slackbot” on the platform is typically not allowed, as the name is reserved. However, McKay circumvented this by using a special character that resembled a letter inside “Slackbot,” thus fooling the system and maintaining his account’s active status.
This clever move allowed McKay to send bot-like messages to his former colleagues, maintaining the appearance of a functional Slackbot account. The deception went unnoticed, with McKay blending in seamlessly among the automated messages.
Even on platforms that seem secure, like Slack, McKay’s prank emphasizes the significance of being vigilant in monitoring user accounts, even though not every firm may fall for such a technique. It reminds us that sometimes a little ingenuity may fool even the most perceptive onlookers.