Ways to protect your personal data online
Individuals may take steps to protect their personal data online. The same rationale should be used as when requesting personal information on paper or in person.
Among the things you can consider:
Who is collecting information?
what will be done with them?
are they necessary?
what are the possible consequences?
Privacy policy and user terms
It is recommended to pay close attention to the privacy policy of the medium, user terms and other matters that may be relevant, such as information about the use of cookies. This way, you can gain knowledge of how the personal data of users is used and for what purpose.
A personal data protection policy is a declaration to be demonstrated:
who collects the information,
to which they are to be used, and
whether they will be shared with others.
If the intention is not clear, it is advisable to ask the company concerned for further information before providing personal information, especially if it is sensitive.
Privacy and advertising settings
Privacy and advertising settings on social media can give individuals control over how their personal data is used.
It is appropriate to review privacy settings regularly and use the available options to control how the personal data is used. It is also necessary to review regularly the permissions that have been granted to other websites or apps.
When apps are used, for example on Facebook, the user often has to agree to give the application access to certain information. The same applies when the user chooses to use his/her access ID for example on Facebook to log in to other websites.
This access can be conflicting and there is every reason to be vigilant against websites and apps that ask for more access than is needed for the purpose of using them.
Deletion of access
It should be remembered that while a particular app is deleted, for example from Facebook or from the phone of the user in question, this does not mean that the user's personal data is also deleted from the company's databases.
Before deleting the program, it is appropriate to look into how the personal data will be handled if its use is stopped, information about this should be available through the program or its operator.
Good general advice for improving safety:
Everybody should be alert to online dangers such as identity theft, scam emails and unapproved sharing of information.
It is important that:
have strong passwords
be careful with what information is posted on the internet
read the terms before submitting personal data
