Think Twice Before You Share Your Information Online

The internet has allowed us to connect and share with essentially anyone around the world like never before. With just a few simple clicks, we have the whole world at our fingertips. It is fun to connect online with people on a global scale. But, we can face an invasion of online privacy if we’re not careful enough with how and what information we share.

Information is more valuable than you think. Businesses are focusing on who you are and how you interact online. They are already tracking our information to predict our online actions. Now’s the time for each of us to think about how we manage our information. Also, we can think about the consequences that our shared information could hold in the future.

The responsibility for managing online privacy lies in you and the organizations with whom you share your information. Let’s talk about how you can make sure your information is protected from both sides.

It all starts with you!

From the point of the user, we can often get carried away with the trail of information that we leave behind on the internet. From enabling cookies to providing your personal information when signing up for a social media account. The information from our digital footprint is being used, shared and analyzed more and more. By giving our information without asking: “Is this necessary?” we are vulnerable to the invasiveness of other users and organizations.

Think of it like this; you wouldn’t give your phone number to a stranger, so why would you give it to a company during your first interaction? The first step to protect your online data is to limit the sharing of it. Consider how people can use your data when you share it.

For example, if you’re signing up for an event online, you may be giving your information to not only whoever’s hosting the event. But maybe to sponsors and other parties connected to the event as well. When you provide your information, make sure you review the terms of your registration. There, you will find details of who can access your information and how they potentially use it.

It’s important to double-check how legitimate a website is. Phishing scams are increasingly appearing. They are so deceiving that, sometimes, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between a real website and a phishing scam. Once the people involved in these scams have access to your information, fraudulent behavior is the next step. It can result in a loss at your cost. To avoid situations like this, make sure the URL of the website is secure. Also, make sure that personal information such as your credit card number, social insurance number, address, etc. is barely shared and only when necessary.

Organizations are accountable for your info too!

Data protection isn’t a one-way street. Organizations need to be aware of the due diligence required when collecting people’s personal information. While US laws for privacy may be blander than the EU’s GDPR, organizations are still obligated to tell you how they’ll use your information. They must do it in a way that is easy to understand — without tricky terms and conditions filled with legal clauses. People often accept those without understanding what they mean.

GDPR protects the privacy and data of every EU citizen.

There are articles such as:

• the right to know what data a company holds about you
• an opportunity to refuse company access to browsing history and cookies when you visit their site
• clear responsibility for companies to ask for customer information is in place to protect you
• you can report a company if you see that any of the GDPR clauses are not respected

Just because a business asks for your information, does not mean that they need to have it.

Also, remember that you can update your preferences on how you’d like your information used at any time. You can update the details for the types of communications you receive from a company. You can even request for the complete deletion of your information from their database and any third-party databases as well.

Respect yourself and your data. It may seem irrelevant but, unlike your footprints on the beach, your online trace stays forever.