Almost everything you do online leaves a trail of information behind. While you’ll never be able to fully erase this trail, you can take steps to secure and reduce it. Keep reading to learn how to protect your digital footprint.
What is a Digital Footprint?
A digital footprint, also known as an online footprint or digital shadow, is a collection of all your online data and activities. This includes information like your browsing history, location, social media activity, and more. Since they hold so much information, digital footprints have both good and bad sides. For example, they are beneficial in that they help personalize your online experience by remembering important data and targeting information to you that aligns with your interests. You can also use it to build a positive online reputation. On the other hand, the information they hold is personal and sensitive, leading to decreased privacy and the likelihood that you’ll become a target of cyberattacks if you aren’t careful with what you share and how you protect it.
5 Digital Footprint Safety Tips
If you’re looking to safeguard your online information, here are five tips to protect and reduce your digital footprint.
1. Be Mindful of What You Share Online
Be cautious of your activity on social media. Adding information like your phone number, location, or email address to your social media accounts increases your digital footprint and gives cybercriminals greater insight into who you are. So do the pages and posts that you follow and like. You should also be mindful of the information you share outside of social media, like in online submission forms or submission fields when creating new accounts, especially if they need credit card information. Also, be aware that when you use social logins like “Sign in with Google” or “Sign in with Facebook,” your data may transfer from those sites, giving hackers easier access to your information.
2. Limit Online Accounts
If you aren’t going to use an app or account anymore, be sure to delete it. Even when not in use, apps, social media networks, and other online accounts can still hold and collect your information. Just because you haven’t received any notifications from a platform in a while doesn’t mean it’s still not tracking your activity. Make sure to properly deactivate or delete an account instead of just turning off or unsubscribing from notifications and newsletters and be selective about opening new accounts.
3. Stay Up-To-Date
Don’t skip updates to your software or operating system. If possible, turn on automatic updates to ensure your devices stay up-to-date with the latest software and protections.
4. Be Careful When Using Public Wi-Fi
While convenient, public Wi-Fi isn’t always the most secure, making it more susceptible to hackers. Consider using a VPN or virtual private network if you must use a public network. This will help secure your data, hiding your IP address and online activity.
5. Check Privacy Settings and Set Preferences
Privacy settings often change, so review them periodically and set them to your preference. You may want to prevent certain apps or websites from collecting information like your location, search activity, or access to your contacts and camera. If you download a new app or create a new account, make sure to review its privacy policy. It’s easy to blindly accept terms and agreements, but your privacy and security are valuable, so it’s important to understand how an organization collects and uses your data.
Ready to Secure Your Footprint?
Whether you need to protect your employees, business, or personal data, our team can provide you with the highest level of security possible to safeguard your online footprint and all of the sensitive information it contains. Defend yourself against data breaches, hackers, and other security threats by finding a Computer Troubleshooters location near you to learn more about our security services and solutions.
