How to Protect Your Privacy Online

How to Protect Your Privacy Online in 2020

in Privacy

In this guide, you will learn how to protect your privacy online to reduce the chance of your personal information getting into the wrong hands.

Why Digital Privacy Matters

Thanks to the internet, the world we live in today has become almost fully digitalized. Technology can now assist almost every aspect of human life. As a result, people have developed a very high level of trust for their gadgets. Moreover, they often do not think twice before leaving their personal information with these gadgets.

However, the information they leave with their gadgets can be used against them, if they do not take appropriate measures to secure their online privacy

The chances of having hackers and data intruders accessing vital data you have stored on your devices today are quite high. All hope for your digital privacy is not lost, however. As there are a few strategies you can employ to ensure that you protect your digital privacy, some of them discussed below.

Keep Your Devices Updated

digital privacy

It is always a good idea to be on the lookout for new software updates for your devices. Keeping the software applications in your digital devices up-to-date is one of the most effective ways to strengthen the security of your device. 

Manufacturers of these software applications do their best to patch up possible security breaches while working on their updates. When this is done, the security protocol of the software is strengthened and will contribute to the general security of your device. 

However, you should check the privacy settings of your device’s software after you have upgraded. This will make sure that nothing has tampered with it during the process of update.

Use the Two-Factor Verification Option

Two-factor verification helps to further the protection of devices and software applications.

2FA involves adding another level of identification – other than passwords – before allowing access to your devices. The technology might require either physical materials (a card, phone, etc.) or biometric markers (facial recognition, fingerprint, etc.). 

Watch the Permissions You Grant to Applications

People have the habit of giving out permissions to applications without taking the time to read the terms and conditions of these permissions. This might be dangerous to your digital privacy. You may grant permission for easy access to the personal details on your devices by third parties. 

Fortunately, you can stop this! Carefully read and understand every permission request that comes to your phone. Before going ahead to accept them, check the permission won’t affect your privacy.

Use a Password Manager

You should already know that one of the most basic yet efficient ways to protect your digital privacy is by using password protection.

What you might not know, however, is that you can use a password manager to make password management easier. A password manager is an application that helps you to create and manage passwords for all your digital accounts.

If you have a lot of password-protected accounts on your device, you can easily manage all of the passwords with the password manager. Thereby, you can reduce the stress of having to manage each of your passwords individually. Popular password managers include 1password, Dashlane, Keepass, etc. 

The importance of protecting your personal information, especially in our modern world, can never be overstressed. You can make use of the tips in this article to help you ensure the security of your digital privacy.

Feranmi is a freelance contributor to the Dark Web Journal. He is an experienced researcher and writer in areas such as decentralization and cryptocurrencies.