Your digital footprint acts as a virtual paper trail leading back to you. It can include information such as your browsing history, search queries, online purchases, and social media posts. Every account created, image posted, email sent, or location tagged adds to your digital footprint. Almost every action you take on the Internet leaves a trail of data, meaning that anyone with a search engine or advanced software (e.g., skip tracing tool) can monitor your behavior, preferences, opinions, and so on by following the trail you leave behind.
In case you didn’t already know, your digital footprint can have a lasting impact on your reputation, make you vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and affect your employment opportunities, to name a few. Your digital footprint is more than a privacy risk. The data you leave online when browsing is collected, stored and analyzed by organizations to derive insights. Simply put, it helps them see performance. Your passwords can end up for sale on the dark web and manipulated by malicious actors to orchestrate an attack. Cybercriminals can leverage your digital footprint, using it to create false identities.
If you want to safeguard your personal information from cyber thieves, it’s comforting to know there are steps you can take to clean up your digital footprint.
Delete Or Deactivate Social Media Accounts
If you take your online safety seriously, it’s a good idea to delete or deactivate your social media accounts that aren’t currently in use. Indeed, social networking sites bring about opportunities to connect with others, but there are numerous threats to be wary of, such as identity theft. Fraudsters use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and so on to steal your personally identifiable information or fool you into giving up access to your accounts. Instead of risking a breach in one of your accounts, you should better deactivate or delete them altogether for your online privacy and security.
In all your time on the Internet, you’ve probably signed up on many platforms, some of which you’ve forgotten. If you no longer use an account, you don’t keep an eye on it for suspicious activity, so you have no idea it’s been compromised. Why leave personal and/or financial information lingering online? If one of the aforementioned social media platforms suffers a data breach, a threat actor can get their hands on your email address, name, age, phone number, credentials, etc. Do a thorough check of your inbox, searching for emails containing words like “welcome” or “your account”.
Think Before You Click
Websites may track your online activity using cookies, which retain information such as clicks, device specifications, shopping preferences, location, and so forth. By and large, accepting cookies on a website doesn’t result in a catastrophic event, but you should be alert when you’re prompted to save your login credentials. If someone gets access to the system, they can get access to your account, so limit the number of cookies that end up on your computer or mobile device. Removing cookies can help mitigate the risk of a data breach, but it can make certain platforms work harder to navigate. Plus, you’d need to re-enter your data for each visit.
Data breaches can happen to organizations of any size, with cybercriminals exploiting the vulnerabilities in the security systems and processes. If your information was exposed in a data breach that poses a high risk, you must be informed unless there are technical or organizational protection measures in place. Not everyone keeps a lawyer on retainer, mostly due to the astronomical expense, which is why services like Data Breach Claims (https://www.databreachclaims.org.uk) are so helpful. The GDPR gives you the right to claim compensation if you’ve suffered damage on account of the data breach.
Change Your Privacy Settings for A Safer Online Experience
Privacy settings change often, so it’s a good idea to review your privacy settings on a regular basis and set them to your preference. You may be surprised to learn what gets saved. You can update your settings to stop tracking web searches (and app activity) and even delete your search history. Cybercriminals can use sensitive data like your birthday, maiden name, and pet’s name to impersonate you or bypass security measures on your accounts. Therefore, if the information can be misused, don’t make it public.
Search For Your Name on Google
It’s easy for others to find out more about you by Googling your name – all it takes is a few minutes of research to find your Facebook page and even photos of you. Many people have changed their minds about a friend or coworker based on what they’ve learned online. Search the Internet for yourself, looking for text as well as images. If you’re not happy with what you find, delete the content or ask the person who posted it to delete it. It can take a while to actually disappear, so you might still find the information on cached pages.
The Internet offers web users the chance to find information within seconds of searching, and that information isn’t always factual. If you don’t like the search engine results tied to your name, don’t fret because there’s a way to change them. If you find your telephone number or come across an inappropriate photo of you, figure out who controls the content. Suppose it’s yours and you want it removed. In that case, submit a request to remove the links from the Google search results. If the URLs are within the scope of the policies, they’ll be removed from all queries.
Concluding Thoughts
The availability and content of a digital footprint shouldn’t be left to chance, so make your online presence a positive one. Share less information with apps and services because these shares and data points can be used by fraudsters to access your sensitive information. Don’t share information about who you are, what your interests are, and what you do online. Regardless of how much information you remove from the Internet, data leaks happen, so monitor your personal information twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
