These days, it seems like everyone is after your personal data – from seemingly harmless enterprises such as local businesses to more nefarious entities such as hackers and impersonators. Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take in order to keep your sensitive information safe and browse the internet safely.
Customise your cookies
We are all probably familiar with the concept of cookies and we’ve all encountered those pop-ups that appear every time we access a new website, asking us to accept or reject them. But how important is it not to accept cookies?
The fact is, many of us probably unthinkingly click ‘accept’ on the majority of occasions, as we are in a rush and don’t want to go through the hassle of customising or rejecting cookies. However, by doing so, we could be unwittingly providing access to our data and our personal preferences to unknown third parties, who can use it for their own gain. If this is something you’re keen to avoid, next time you’re asked to accept or reject cookies – opt for the latter.
Google Yourself
If you are not sure how many sites and organisations currently have your personal information on file, the easiest way to find out is by Googling yourself. You may be unpleasantly surprised by just how many entities have your personal details stored away.
However, once you have this information, you can use it to work through them one by one and opt-out of every site, regaining control over your personal data.
Use ad blockers
It may not technically be a form of opting out, but ad blockers can sometimes be used to protect your privacy online. This is because they function by blocking various tracking tools which may try and acquire and analyse your data. However, some ad blockers are more effective than others, so if you are considering going down this route it’s a good idea to do your research and find a reputable blocker that really works.
Tick The Right Box
These days it seems like whenever you make a purchase, you have to fill out a form providing all kinds of irrelevant personal details. These forms also tend to have some boxes at the bottom, which you have to tick to say whether or not you wish to hear from them in the future regarding promotions and other events. An easy way to opt out is to tick the ‘no’ box every single time. This then obligates that business not to contact you.
Opt out of information brokers
Information brokers (also known as data brokers) are companies that collect your data from a number of sources – from your social media sites to web browsing cookies, public records, and several others. Your data is then sold to other entities for marketing, risk mitigation and other purposes.
Sensitive details such as GPS location, birthday, bank details, and phone numbers might have ended up compromised in this manner. To regain control over your data, it is possible to follow available opt-out guides, which detail the process of requesting information brokers to remove sensitive details from various databases. A faster option, however, is to take advantage of automated tools that complete the process on your behalf.
The bottom line
Customising your cookies, Googling yourself, using ad blockers and ticking the right box are excellent ways to ensure that your sensitive information does not end up in unwanted hands. In addition to the above, you should take the necessary steps to retrieve the data that has been already acquired by opting out from information brokers.
