3 Best Practices for Online Privacy

Using the internet every day for work and play is great, but the unfortunate truth is that, as you do so, you might be putting your private and personal information at risk. 

If you don’t take the right steps to protect your privacy while surfing the World Wide Web, you might end up regretting it. After all, in addition to viruses that can infect your computer, there is also the risk of hackers gaining access to your information and then using it to commit crimes like identity theft. 

What are some of the smart steps you can take to protect your online privacy as much as possible? Continue reading to access a list of helpful tips. 

1. Control Where Your Personal Information Is Displayed

Did you know that there are people search websites that can make it really easy for strangers to find information about you, like where you live and your background information, such as lawsuits that you have been involved in or property that you have owned? A great example is Nuwber, which you can use to gain access to information about an individual when you want to verify their identity. 

Sure, these sites can be helpful when you want to be sure you aren’t dealing with a scammer or a con artist, but if the idea of your info being so easy to find doesn’t make you feel secure, you can simply opt out of having your data displayed on these sites. It’s that simple, and it can help you protect your online privacy. 

2. Keep Your Social Media Accounts Private

Think about everything that you share on social media. You probably share your views and opinions on various topics, you might have filled in your profile information to display things like your work history and relationship status, and you might share photos and videos regularly as well. That’s a lot of personal information that even strangers can access if your profile is set to be viewable by the public. 

Therefore, another smart way to protect your online privacy is by simply changing your settings to make all of your social media accounts private. And, in addition to that, use caution when adding connections, followers, and friends, as you want to be sure you won’t be adding anyone who has bad intentions. 

3. Set Strong Passwords and Use Two-Step Verification

Another great way to protect your privacy online is by always using strong passwords that are long, have a combination of numbers, symbols, and uppercase and lowercase letters, and are hard to guess. And it is also wise to use a different password for each of your accounts, as using the same password over and over again could make it easier for hackers to access more of your information. 

In addition to using strong passwords, setting up multi-factor authentication whenever it is possible to do so is a strategic way to ensure your privacy online can be more secure. In the event that a hacker is able to figure out the password to an account, they still won’t be able to get in if you have two-step verification set up, so it gives you an extra level of security. 

These are just a few of the many ways that you can be smarter about protecting your privacy when you are online. Which ones will you implement right away?