Preserving Digital Privacy on Social Media
BY DANIEL, ISSAM, ISAAC, MAKAYLA
Why is Digital Privacy So Important?
As the technology advances, our digital footprints are getting significantly more important. Once something is posted online, they can never be undone completely. Screenshots or traces of evidence will still be floating around the internet, just not shown to you, but it could still be found!
What Will Your Information Be Used for?
Companies such as Facebook could use them to deliver personalized advertisements, things that you have previously shown interest in could potentially be sold to advertisers. By saying information, it goes way beyond your age, gender and where you live, but things that you are interested in can be inferred from the posts you like, the things you post, your current location and even digging deep into your private messages with friends.
Staying Safe and Private
We believe there are two aspects of staying safe on the Internet: digital privacy and digital security. Digital privacy refers to your ability to control and maintain the flow of your personal information online, while digital security refers to your means of protection against unauthorized attempts to access your personal information.
Digital Privacy
TIPS AND TRICKS
Having multiple accounts (social media, email, etc) for different purposes.
It is recommended to have at least 3 different emails: a personal email, a work email, and a spam email for any online subscriptions and memberships.
Register for a professional social media account using your real name (for work and employment) and a recreational account using a nickname (where you can post things you might not necessary want your company to see).
Be aware of the audience of your posts.
Change audience settings depending on who you are comfortable with showing in real life.
Utilize tools on social media platforms and undergo Privacy Checkup Tools from time to time.
You might not want your future employers or schools to see what you have posted online before.
Only browse safe and trustworthy websites.
Add-ons for browsers, such as “WOT: Web of Trust” can be downloaded which automatically blocks suspicious or malicious websites for you.
Do not share your location with your friends if you don’t feel comfortable about it.
Certain features on social media and other apps might be on by default.
Make sure you know what permissions you have given to apps and social media.
Apps on your mobile phone collect lots of data about you.
Think carefully before you grant any permissions.
You can always change permission access in your Phone’s Settings Page.
Digital Security
TIPS AND TRICKS
Use a VPN network to browse websites without getting tracked.
VPN protects websites from tracking your location and ip address, hides your internet traffic from your internet provider, and could even prevent Wi-Fi based hacking attempts.
Fun fact, using a VPN to connect certain locations is proved to guarantee lower prices for hotels and air tickets.
Passwords and Account Safety.
Keeping them in a safe location (always have a physical and digital copy).
Do not use your name, birthday or any phrase that could be easily guessable.
Ensuring that your accounts won’t be accessed without permission.
Enable Two Factor Authentication (using SMS or backup passwords).
Do not reuse passwords for multiple websites.
Data leaks happen frequently. All your accounts will be accessible to hackers once they granted access to one of them.
Change your password regularly and make sure it is a strong password.
More complex passwords could avoid them being guessed easily.
Be Aware and Alert at all times.
Do not share passwords, credit card info or any private information to strangers!
Treat the internet like real life, browse responsibly!
Do not click on any suspicious links.
Be aware that scammers also exist on the internet.
Never enter any information on links that are not secure!
Do not use public Wi-Fi.
When Wi-Fi networks are not secured, any information that is sent and received might be easily stolen.
There have been instances where hackers have gained access to someone’s computer simply by connecting to the same Starbucks Wi-Fi.
Watch the following video that investigates the social media identities of two students in NEW113 to gain a greater understanding of how much of your identity may be revealed online
References
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR 2 VOLUNTEERS FROM NEW113
Budanović, N., Arežina, L., Jovanović, B., & Letić, J. (2021, March 23). Internet Privacy Statistics to Make You Wonder Who's Got Info on You. Retrieved April 2, 2021, from https://dataprot.net/statistics/internet-privacy-statistics/
Jones, H., & Soltren, J. H. (2005). Facebook: Threats to privacy. Project MAC: MIT Project on Mathematics and Computing, from http://ocw.fudutsinma.edu.ng/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-805-ethics-and-the-law-on-the-electronic-frontier-fall-2005/projects/facebook.pdf 1(01), 2005.
Matsakis, L. (n.d.). The wired guide to your personal data (and who is using it). Retrieved March 24, 2021, from https://www.wired.com/story/wired-guide-personal-data-collection/
Stohl, C., Stohl, M., & Leonardi, P. M. (2016). Digital age| managing opacity: Information visibility and the paradox of transparency in the digital age. International Journal of Communication, from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/8484/254,710, 15.
Suciu, P. (2020, June 26). There isn't enough privacy on social media and that is a real problem. Retrieved March 24, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2020/06/26/there-isnt-enough-privacy-on-social-media-and-that-is-a-real-problem/?sh=4cb85e8344f1
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