Tracking Your Digital Footprint
In the digital age of 2020, it shouldn’t be surprising how much of our information can be found on the Internet. With around 72% of the public using some type of social media, it’s almost expected that there’s lots of information to discover online. What is surprising, however, is how easy this information is to access.
A digital footprint is essentially a “trail” of your data on the Internet. Similar to real footprints, your digital footprints can be tracked. Things like your “liked” posts on Facebook, any emails you send, websites you’ve looked at, or blog posts all make up your digital footprint. All of this information helps third parties learn more about you, including your shopping habits and interests. No matter how much you might want to believe that your data is being shared to only a limited group of people, the Internet makes it easier and easier for others to share and access your data.
It’s important to be mindful of your digital footprint for privacy reasons. Though you might delete a post off of your Instagram account, the possibility that your data still exists on the Internet is extremely high. Additionally, your future employers could be looking at things that you’ve tweeted or liked, taking that into consideration throughout the hiring process. And even if you might have private social media accounts, one can still easily access another individual’s Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, personal websites, and more through a simple name search on Google. While they might not be able to stalk the bottom of your private page, things like profile pictures and account names might be permanently listed on the Internet for everyone to see.
In the end, there’s no reason to worry a lot about your digital footprint, but it’s still a good idea to monitor it frequently. From time to time, try searching your name up on Google and see what kind of personal information is completely open for the general public to see. The more we adapt to our online lifestyles, the more we face the possibility of risks as a result of our digital footprints.
As a general rule, if you don’t feel comfortable sharing a piece of information to a large group of other people on the Internet, then just don’t share it at all. Take precautions when using the Internet so that you can better manage your own data.
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