Every year, Data Privacy Week is a reminder of the importance to protect our personal information and raise awareness about data privacy. This week is the perfect time to take control of your digital life and start being a data snob!
Data privacy is about more than just avoiding the bad guys. Being a data snob is about having standards for how your data is collected and used. It also means carefully assessing who you entrust with your personal data, setting privacy expectations about how your data is used, and learning how to properly secure it.
Here are some easy tips to help you manage your data privacy and protect your identity.
Be aware of the tradeoffs between privacy and convenience and choose your priorities wisely.
Whenever you install a new app, sign up for an online account, or join a new social media platform, it’s common for companies to request access to personal information like your location, contacts, and photos. This data is extremely valuable to these companies and you have to ask yourself is whether the service you receive is worth trading some of your privacy – even if the service is free.
Select the privacy and security settings you're comfortable with.
Most services and apps allow you to choose how much personal information is shared; as a best practice we suggest setting them on the side of sharing less data. You don’t need to do this all at once – start with your most important accounts and build from there for greater online privacy and security.
Protect your data.
Data privacy goes hand-in-hand with identity protection. Along with managing your data privacy settings, follow these simple security tips to help protect your identity.
Create long (at least 12 characters), unique passwords for each account and device. Use a password manager to store each password – maintaining dozens of passwords securely is now easier than ever.
Boost your security by enabling multifactor authentication (MFA) on your accounts wherever possible – this will protect your data even if your password is stolen.
Keep your devices, software and browsers updated by enabling automatic updates.
Learn how to identify phishing messages which can be sent as emails, texts, or direct messages.
We hope these tips help you celebrate Data Privacy Week and protect your personal information throughout the year.
