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We’ve all heard the term “online privacy” floating about, whether in a news piece or in casual discussion with a buddy. However, what does it mean to be private online, and is it even feasible? Yes, it is, to put it succinctly. Even if it might not be the simplest of tasks, it is unquestionably achievable and essential to preventing circumstances such as identity theft or the sale of personal data on the dark web.
However, ordinary folks like us don’t experience it, do they? Like it did to John1, it can and does.
When John woke up one morning, he received an odd email from his credit card company saying that they had discovered a significant amount of his personal information publicly accessible on the dark web during a standard search. He initially believed it to be a hoax (who wouldn’t?), but after doing some research, he discovered it was true and went on to, well, freak out for want of a better word. His entire name, email address, and driver’s license were all visible on the dark web! He got in touch with his credit card company, who fortunately told him that they had discovered it in time and that nothing too serious had occurred to his identity or finances, but it might have been much worse.
As we mentioned above, there are steps you can do to protect yourself online, even though these types of scenarios are undoubtedly frightening.
- Reduce your online sharing, not only on social media. Yes, reducing the frequency of your posts on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram and avoiding geographical tagging when you do so are excellent initial steps. However, it goes beyond that.
Avoid sharing playlists, folders, or albums (they could be hacked), use a disposable email address for subscriptions (your information could be sold on the dark web), be careful with the forms you fill out on websites (don’t include optional information like your phone number and middle name), and secure your wi-fi password (your router handles sensitive information like your passwords and financial info).
- Make use of two-factor authentication and difficult-to-guess passwords. It is imperative that you create strong and distinct passwords for every device you own. It’s really the best defense against hackers and identity thieves. You’re one step closer to safeguarding your online privacy when you add two-factor authentication, which is the small code that is delivered to your phone when you need to get into your account.
- Verify that your privacy settings are un change able .Choose what you want to share and what you want to keep private with companies by carefully reviewing your privacy settings. Examine your location tracking preferences and consider turning off automatic geolocation; decide which social media postings you “like”; and decide what information you want to keep private or public. (even if you have a private account, they may still appear in search results if someone looks you up).
- Remove any browser extensions and programs that you aren’t using. The first rule of thumb when it comes to privacy protection is to be wary of any program. When installing an app, bear in mind that many of them gather user data in order to generate revenue (always use reliable sources, such as legitimate app stores). However, what can you do to restrict the amount of data that these applications collect?
Check the settings once more, but also remove any applications or browser extensions that you don’t use to stop them from gathering data about you. Many of these programs do this in the background, even when you’re not using them. Additionally, even if you seldom visit a website, it’s usually safer to use your browser rather than download an app.
- Clear the search engines of your info. We constantly provide personal information to search engines. Our browsers, Chrome and Edge, are also provided by the proprietors of various search engines, such as Google and Bing. To better safeguard your privacy, you can remove your information from their databases.
You may accomplish it for the three major ones as follows:
For Google:
Clear anything out on the My Activity dashboard. For Microsoft: Data from Bing and Microsoft Edge must be cleared individually.
Unfortunately, there is no way to totally stop Google from following you. However, using a search engine that focuses on privacy, like DuckDuckGo, might be a fantastic option.
- When you browse the internet, use a secure virtual private network, or VPN. You are effectively concealing your whereabouts from anyone who is searching for you or following you if you use a virtual private network (VPN), such as the one offered by Aura in their digital suite of protection services. It encrypts your surfing data, rendering it unintelligible to hackers. In other words, they and businesses or data collecting firms won’t be able to readily track your online activities and maybe obtain information that you don’t want them to have.
Remembering to browse in public is another matter. Shoulder surfing is a scam where hackers observe you enter your personal information while you’re using your gadgets. If you’re using a public wifi network, it’s simpler for hackers to obtain your personal information, so if you are, use a VPN.
- Update your applications. Don’t disregard software updates; they exist for a purpose! Software updates are published to “patch” apps when bugs or vulnerabilities are found; if you don’t download the latest software, you’re providing hackers access to your data. Activate automatic updates on your computer and phone, and periodically check for new versions.
- Turn off data and ad tracking In actuality, marketing uses the vast bulk of the personal information that is gathered about you. Thus, make an effort to turn off as many of these trackers as you can! Avoid giving your information to third parties, if at all possible, reject cookies from websites, turn off cross-app monitoring in your phone’s settings, and turn off ad personalization in the applications you use. You can get rid of a lot of the firms who follow you if you can turn off ad and data tracking on the major websites, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and Amazon.
- Encrypt your information. Encrypt your computer to protect your private information, including emails, messages, and files. No one without a password or encryption key will be able to access any of your data. Additionally, you want to think about keeping more data on a conventional hard drive and less in the cloud.
Additionally, certain messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, employ end-to-end encryption, which eliminates the possibility of hackers breaking in through “backdoors.”
- Restrict connections to third-party apps This simply implies that you shouldn’t log in to many apps with the same account. If your Instagram and Twitter accounts are accessed through your Facebook account, then anybody with just one password may access all of those accounts. Examine what is related to what and make an effort to maintain them as distinct as you can.
Disclaimer
This article is intended for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional cybersecurity or legal advice. The mention of any brands, tools, or services—such as Aura—is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply endorsement, partnership, or affiliation. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before relying on any digital security service or making privacy-related decisions. Real or hypothetical scenarios described are for demonstration only and are not based on actual individuals unless explicitly stated.