It’s easy to feel like it’s a scary world wide web out there. Our Harris Interactive poll on digital privacy and security earlier this summer found that the majority of online adults are not comfortable storing personal data online: 88 percent are at least somewhat concerned that their personal online data is being used without their knowledge, with 59 percent being extremely concerned by this.
Luckily, there are certain steps you can take to take control of your digital footprint. Here are four things you can do right now to regain web privacy. They’ll take you five minutes, max:
1. Get rid of Facebook and Twitter apps that have permission to access your data which you haven’t used in the past 3 to 6 months.
For Facebook: Click Drop Down Menu > Privacy Settings > Ads, Apps and Websites, Edit Settings > Apps You Use > Edit Settings
These are the apps that you use. Click “Edit Settings” to see your full list.
(Did anyone else notice that it’s harder to find your Facebook privacy settings than it used to be?)
For Twitter: Drop Down Menu > Settings > Apps > Revoke Access
2. Use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to get secure access to the Interent.
VPNs like Spotflux and AnchorFree allow you to browse the Internet anonymously, detect and block malware, but still use the web the way you’d like to.
In short, they help you regain web privacy by keeping certain information about you concealed from companies who want to sell it.
3. Get SafeShepherd and start removing your info from the web.
Unlike VPNs, which conceal your information while you browse, SafeShepherd removes your and your family’s personal information from websites that sell it. They do all the leg work for you, so you can sign up and watch as you’re notified about where your personal information is no longer listed. It’s kind of incredible to see where information like your name, gender, birthdate, and address have ended up!
4. Use free online services that stop tracking by third parties and browsers.
You can take control of who can track you online or who records your data by using free services like Disconnect.me or Ghostery.
The added bonus with these services is that they make your web browsing faster, once you get all those ads off your back.
While there are lots of things that we can do to decrease our digital footprint and regain web privacy, these are some that I put into action today. Which are others you suggest?
I love this article! I already use a VPN on my laptop (VyprVPN) as well as SafeShepherd and Ghostery.
I don’t have anything to hide, but I know how marketing companies work and how they use cookies (and now even the searches you type in on search engines) to track what you’re doing and then use that data to “serve the most relevant ads to you”.
They say it’s so they can provide the best service to their advertisers, but you know they are compiling the data for other purposes.
Hey David, any other privacy-related products you recommend besides the one you mentioned?