As online activity grows, so does the collection of personal data. Learn how to protect your digital identity with tips on privacy settings, strong passwords, VPNs, and more.
November 18, 2024
Sponsored by Zentury
It is assumed that by the end of this year, almost 65% of the world’s population, or 5.3 billion people, will be online. From reading news and playing games to attending virtual classes and courses, to trading and managing global companies, the Internet now offers a huge range of activities, generating a large amount of data across the online world. Every click, like, or link sharing contributes to the spread of data, while also creating a user's personal footprint on the Internet, which reveals far more than just a user’s name and surname.
Understanding the growing concern of personal privacy online, more people are turning toward better education about data collection, distribution, and usage. Hence, this article explores some key risks that lurk among internet users and provides useful tips that can help you protect your digital identity.
Thanks to advanced technology, the collection of user data begins the moment we connect to the Internet. Websites and applications automatically monitor the behavior of consumers, collecting absolutely all information, and then generating it into relevant, and based on this, create personalized content and improve the user experience. This means that all data are almost equally important, from completely basic ones such as the user's name to shopping habits, searches, and often sensitive information such as biometric data. But before you start researching the best data removal service for personal information, let's first understand how users leave their data online.
To get your data, companies use certain tools and techniques that you all come across but cannot notice. These are known as:
Cookies - text files composed of a series of numbers and letters, which every time you open a page, send certain information to the hosting website.
Tracking Pixels or Web beacons - miniature, invisible images that are mostly a component of emails, web pages or advertisements, and are responsible for reporting user behavior.
These two technologies work together to create a detailed picture of each Internet user, which is further used mainly to improve the user experience.
Once you are connected to Wi-Fi and are surfing the Internet, it is a matter of seconds before your data reaches its final or temporary destination. Here are some typical destinations where user data mainly goes:
Data Brokers - are entities that collect, buy, and sell data from numerous sources, and based on this they create detailed profiles for further use, such as targeted advertising.
Advertising networks - top companies such as Meta, use personal data to improve their targeted advertising services, often based on demographic data or personal interests.
Third-party vendors - considering that not all companies can afford technologies for their own data collection, they rely on third-party vendors who use their data to provide analytics, marketing, and similar services.
Although these vendors seem harmless for your data, they are often targets for cybercriminals, and if the customer data is unprotected, and reaches unauthorized parties, it can pose a significant risk to the security of your personal and financial data.
As more personal data becomes accessible online, the risk of misuse has significantly increased, with these three being the most common risks that people or companies might face:
Privacy Violations - many online platforms share their clients' data further, without their consent, or do not offer them sufficiently clear privacy rules. Therefore, user data often ends up in the hands of companies that offer them services or products for which they have no interest, thus violating their privacy.
Identity theft - one of the most serious forms of data misuse, especially when it comes to identification or financial data. With access to this data, cybercriminals can make unauthorized transactions, leading the user to huge financial and often legal problems.
Phishing scams - cybercriminals often present themselves under fake profiles, most often as banks or technology companies, and that's how they get your data. They will often use information such as your last purchases or dialed numbers, making their schemes more convincing.
Strong passwords that have no personal meaning for you are the first level of protection of your data, so it would be good to think about random passwords with as many characters as possible (numbers, letters, and special symbols). Include two-factor authentication, which serves as an additional layer of protection, and which, in addition to the password, also requires another form of confirmation.
Periodically check the privacy settings on the applications and browsers you use, and limit access to your location, contacts, and other personal data. Consider whether this information is necessary for the application to run smoothly.
A VPN is a program that encrypts your internet network, making it almost impossible to track, and therefore almost flawlessly protecting your privacy. On the other hand, the Ad blocker will prevent the display of unwanted ads, thus protecting you from this very frequent bait of cyber criminals.
Removing your online digital data, by simply clearing of browsing history and tracking cookies, might be the simplest way to protect your data, which will limit the reach of advertising networks.
The Internet is our present and future, the place where we create our new identities, and where we spend most of our time indulging in various activities. This also means that our data will continue to move freely through the digital world, exposed to cyberattacks, violating your privacy. Thanks to powerful technologies, data removal companies, but also simple strategies, there are many ways to protect your data, and the first step is to change your online habits. Stay informed and vigilant and be the first and strongest link to your secure digital future.
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