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Legal uses of secret identity include people placed under witness protection programs to protect witnesses in criminal trials from retaliation from the criminal organizations they inform against. Law enforcement and intelligence agents often use secret identities in undercover operations in order to infiltrate criminal or foreign organizations for the purposes of investigations. Entertainers like professional wrestlers sometimes hide their identities beyond simple stage names in order create an appealing mystique for the audience.

Writers also often use pseudonyms in order to hide their identity. In some cases, such as with James Tiptree, Jr, the writer will use a pseudonym because the image required by the genre does not match the writer's actual identity. In the case of Richard Bachman, Stephen King wanted to know whether his writing as an "unknown" writer would get as much interest as his non- pseudonym work. Finally, a writer who produces several independent series of works featuring different recurring characters (such as John Creasey ) or who writes in different genres or styles (such as Nora Roberts) may use different names for each one.

In politics, the assumption of a secret identity is sometimes used to avoid adverse political consequences of an identity being publicized. Famous secret identities in politics include Deep Throat, the unnamed source for Watergate information and X, who wrote a famous essay outlining the United States policy of containment.

On the Internet, an alias or nickname is often used for privacyPrivacy is the ability of a person to control the availability of information about and exposure of him- or herself. It is related to being able to function in society anonymously (including pseudonymous or blind credential identification). According to E and abbreviationAbbreviation (from Latin brevis "short") is strictly a shortening, but more particularly, an abbreviation is a letter or group of letters, taken from a word or words, and employed to represent them for the sake of brevity. Usage Abbreviations have been us. (See also Internet friendshipInternet friendships are friendships between people who have met online, and in some cases know each other only via the Internet. Like Internet romance, it has been widely debated and often criticized. It is, many people argue, very difficult if not impos and Sherry TurkleSherry Turkle (born 1948) is a clinical psychologist and a professor of Science, Technology and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Born in New York City, New York ( USA) she has focused her research on psychoanalysis and culture and on's academic work.)

Secret identities of real people include:

• James Tiptree, Jr
• Richard Bachman
• XGeorge Frost Kennan (born February 16, 1904) was for many years a member of the United States Foreign Service. As a foreign policy planner in the late 1940s and 1950s, he is considered to have been the "architect" of the Cold War with his call for contain
• " Anonymous ", the author of Primary ColorsPrimary Colors is a 1996 novel by Anonymous (later revealed by Donald Foster to be journalist Joe Klein), a Roman a clef about Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign in 1992. The book centers around Henry Burton, who's roped into being something of a
• Deep Throat - Watergate informant
• Publius , the authors of the Federalist Papers
• The Residents
• The Guerilla Girls
• Slipknot

see also: pen names