Master Your Online Privacy — Protecting Your Personal Information

Is your online privacy under threat? Find out how to take control and protect your personal information

As the digital age has grown, online privacy has become a very big deal. Even if you don’t know it, every website you visit uses cookies and other tracking tools to get information about you. This information could also be given to other people without your knowledge or permission. This makes you more likely to be attacked or have your personal information stolen.

Your browser’s privacy settings are a simple and effective way to protect your online privacy and take charge of your data. By changing the privacy settings on your browser, you can decide what information is shared with third parties and how many cookies and other tracking tools are used. This means that your sensitive information can’t be collected and shared without your permission.

Don’t let anyone get into your online privacy any longer.

Settings for privacy and the best way to use a browser

Make sure to do the following in your browser’s privacy settings:

• Block cookies from other websites. First-party cookies, which are the site’s own, are used legally to make the site work. Third-party cookies, on the other hand, belong to other entities (mostly advertisers) that may track you in ways you don’t want. Don’t block all cookies, because many sites won’t work right if you do.
• Set the default permissions for websites to access the camera, location, microphone, content blockers, auto-play, downloads, pop-up windows, and notifications to either Ask or Off, if not Off.
• Stop using trackers. If your browser doesn’t let you do that, switch to one that does. Trackers are replacing old methods like cookies as the best way to keep track of users. Also, blocking trackers is less likely to make websites only partly work, as is often the case when you use a content blocker.
• Note: Like many other web services, social media sites use trackers on their own and partner sites to keep tabs on you. But they also use social media widgets like “sign in,” “like,” and “share” buttons, which many websites include, to get even more information about what you do online.
• Use DuckDuckGo as your default search engine, because it’s more private than Google or Bing. If you need to, you can always go to google.com or bing.com.
• Never use a Google, Facebook, or other social account to sign into other sites. Instead, make your own account. Using these services as a quick way to sign in gives them access to your personal information on the sites you sign into.
• Don’t sign in to your Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc. accounts from more than one browser. This will keep these companies from getting a fuller picture of what you do. If you need to sign in for syncing, you might want to use different browsers for different tasks, like Firefox for personal use and Chrome for business.
• Note that having multiple Google accounts won’t help you keep your activities separate. Google knows that they all belong to the same person and will combine all of your activities.

Change the privacy settings on your browser right now to protect your personal information. With browser privacy settings, you can rest easy knowing that you are in charge of your privacy online.

Thanks!