5 Ways to Be a Top Dog in Data Privacy
Data Privacy Day, or Data Protection Day in Europe, is recognized annually on January 28 to mark the anniversary of Convention 108, the first binding international treaty to protect personal data. To raise awareness for the day and promote best practices for data privacy, we’ve partnered with Snap to create a Data Privacy Day Snapchat Lens that lets you choose what type of privacy pup best reflects your personality. Check it out by scanning the Snapchat code!
Once you’ve determined which privacy pup you are, learn more about protecting your privacy with these 5 quick, easy steps.
1. Share your Information with Websites and Apps you Trust
Today, almost everything we do online involves companies collecting personal information about us. When we’re subscribing to marketing emails, making online purchases, filling out surveys, or even applying for jobs online, websites are collecting more information than ever before, and we’ve become accustomed to sharing personal information daily. However, it’s important to be cautious and trust a website or app before sharing any personal information with it.
There are a few ways to evaluate a website or app before sharing personal information. The first is to check the website’s url and domain name. Confirm that both the name of the website is spelled properly, and the domain name ending in .org, .com, .edu, or .gov, which are typically (but not always) more credible. Next, you can look for clear information about the leaders of the organization and their contact information on the website. If that information isn’t available, or is difficult to find, be cautious because you may not know who will be responsible for your personal information. Lastly, take a few minutes to evaluate a company’s privacy policy. The policy should clearly state the company’s full name, explain how they will be using your information, and may include information about the security measures in place. Many states also require companies to let you submit a data access request, and it’s helpful to check that the company is complying with their state law and displaying that information.
2. Update your passwords and multi-factor authentication regularly
Password re-use is one of the top ways that unwanted eyes can get into your accounts: once one service where you used a password is breached, criminals will likely try the same username and password combination on other services just to see if it works. To get a sense of the scale of the risk, you check your info on web service “Have I Been Pwned” (available at haveibeenpwned.com), which allows you to enter your email address and see what data breaches that email has been included in.
Because of the risks involved in recycling passwords, using unique passwords is an essential step for keeping personal information private. You can also consider utilizing a password manager. Password managers save passwords as you create and log in to your accounts, often alerting you of duplicates and suggesting the creation of a stronger password. And no, the name of your dog is not a strong password.
For example, if you use an Apple product when signing up for new accounts and services, you can allow your iPhone, Mac, or iPad to generate strong passwords and safely store them in iCloud Keychain for later access. Some of the best third-party password managers can be found here.
When possible, you should also utilize multi-factor authentication along with a password. This extra step ensures that simply inputting a compromised password is not enough to provide access to your account without an extra step, typically the connection of a device like a yubikey or submission of a numeric code sent to a phone number, e-mail address, or authentication application on your phone. While some forms of multi-factor authentication may be more protective and more resilient than others, any choice will significantly increase the security in comparison to a password alone. You can see how easy it is to set up multi-factor authentication on Snapchat using their easy-to-understand articles, available online.
3. Respect other peoples’ privacy
It’s important to be mindful about the information you share and see on social media. Consider the reach of your own posts, and avoid sharing anything you wouldn’t want to be saved or widely shared, whether it’s about you or someone else. Many social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat allow you to share images and chat with a closed group or limited number of friends, and it’s important to honor when someone chooses to keep information non-public when they share it in closed or private settings. Don’t screenshot or reshare private stories or messages from others.
4. Review all social media settings
Many social media sites include options on how to tailor your privacy settings to limit how data is collected or used. Snap provides privacy options that control who can contact you and many other options. Start with the Snapchat Privacy Center to review your settings. You can find those choices here.
Snap also provides options for you to view any data they have collected about you, including account information and your search history. Downloading your data allows you to view what information has been collected and modify your settings accordingly.
Instagram allows you to manage various privacy settings, including who has access to your posts, who can comment on or like your posts, and manage what happens to posts after you delete them. You can view and change your settings here.
TikTok allows you to decide between public and private accounts, allows you to change your personalized ad settings, and more. You can check your settings here.
X allows you to manage what information you allow other people on the platform to see and lets you choose your ad preferences. Check your settings here.
Facebook provides a range of privacy settings that can be found here.
In addition, you can check the privacy and security settings for other popular applications such as Reddit and Pinterest here. Be sure to also check your privacy settings if you have a profile on a popular dating app such as Bumble, Hinge, or Tinder.
What other social media apps do you use often? Check to see which settings they provide!
5. Use incognito settings to keep personal information about you hidden
Many browsers and apps allow you to turn on a setting that lets you continue to use the service without sharing as much personal information as you normally would.
On Chrome, you can browse the web more privately using incognito mode. To activate, open Chrome, under “More,” click “New Incognito Window.”
Using Safari, you can choose “private browsing” by opening Safari, clicking “File” and then “New Private Window.” If you have the app, you can choose to always browse privately by clicking “Settings” and then for the option “Safari opens with” pop-up menu, choose “a new private window.”
Mozilla also has options for using Firefox in “private browsing mode.” Click Firefox’s menu button, and then click “New private window.” You can also choose to always be in private browsing mode by choosing “Use custom settings for history” from the Firefox’s menu and checking the “Always use private browsing mode” setting.
Browsers like DuckDuckGo and Brave also default to private browsing mode. You can read more about DuckDuckGo’s anonymous browsing settings here, and Brave’s privacy protections here.
Using Snapchat, you can turn on Ghost Mode. While using it, your location won’t be visitable to anyone, including friends you may have previously shared your location with on Snapchat’s Snap Map. To turn it on, open the Map, tap the ⚙️ button at the top of the map screen, toggle Ghost Mode to on, and select how long you’d like to enable Ghost Mode.
If you’re interested in learning more about one of the topics discussed here or other issues driving the future of privacy, sign up for our monthly briefing, check out one of our upcoming events, or follow us on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram.
FPF brings together some of the top minds in privacy to discuss how we can all benefit from the insights gained from data while respecting the individual right to privacy.