For most of us, the Internet is an essential part of our daily lives for staying connected with friends and family, working, studying, gaming, shopping, and paying bills. While the Internet offers many benefits, it also poses risks. These include threats to our identity integrity, our privacy, and the security of our electronic communications, particularly financial transactions, as well as exposure to offensive and illegal content and behavior.

There are numerous measures you can take to protect yourself online, which may seem overwhelming at first.

What is Internet Privacy?

Privacy is a major concern for governments and tech giants, and they often disagree on what it entails.

In essence, internet privacy is the protection of your right to keep personal information to yourself.

Surprisingly, only a few regions have laws safeguarding these rights. And even when online privacy laws exist, not all companies comply with them.

Internet privacy and internet security are distinct yet closely interconnected. Privacy usually pertains to the lawful collection of data (e.g., information you share on social media), while cybersecurity focuses on unlawful data collection (e.g., protecting your accounts from hackers).

However, there is significant overlap. Good security enhances privacy, and improved privacy supports high levels of security. By taking a few simple steps, you can improve both.

How to protect your data online?

Share less information online

The best way to protect your data from people trying to deceive you online is to share less of it.

When it comes to sharing information, social media platforms are often the first thing that comes to mind, and they are a good starting point. Be especially cautious with your photos or photos of loved ones, posts with geotags, or any information that should not be known to outsiders.

Beyond social media platforms, nearly all apps collect information about your activities, and they rarely protect your data as thoroughly as you would like. Every few months, headlines emerge about privacy breaches by various companies. For instance:

Zoom linked its user accounts with LinkedIn profiles, revealing names and professions — even for "anonymous" users.

Facebook stored hundreds of millions of account passwords in plain text — and failed to notice for years.

These activities and data points form our digital footprint, which fraudsters can exploit to access our sensitive information.

Ways to stop oversharing online:

• Don't share all the information in the profile. Avoid filling out optional information in forms, such as middle names or phone numbers.
• Use disposable email addresses. Email lists are often sold or leaked on the dark web and can fall into untrustworthy hands. Consider creating a disposable email address for signing up on any platform.
• Limit shared folders, albums, or playlists. . The more people have access to your data, the higher the risk of leaks or breaches.
• Protect your Wi-Fi password. Your router handles sensitive information, from passwords to financial data. Anyone who knows your Wi-Fi password and has malicious intentions could attempt to steal your information.

Use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication

Strong passwords are often the most critical — and sometimes the only — defense against identity theft. If you don’t already use passwords or PINs for all your devices (including guest accounts), it’s best to add them immediately.

Use a strong and unique password for each online account. For users with dozens of accounts, a password manager is one of the simplest ways to safeguard your data.

After setting up a password, enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for every account that offers it. This additional security measure can protect you even if you accidentally share your password with hackers during a phishing attack.

An example of 2FA is entering a code sent to your mobile phone. However, it’s recommended to avoid SMS codes and instead use authenticator apps, which are more secure.

Tighten privacy settings on your online accounts

Another step you can take is reviewing the privacy settings of the online accounts you use regularly.

Companies earn millions, even billions, from collecting your personal information. Generally, their default settings are geared toward data collection rather than protection.

The best settings for you depend on what you want to share and what you wish to protect. However, there are a few key areas to focus on:

• Location tracking. Consider disabling automatic geolocation data for your posts, photos, and comments on social media.
• Public information. Carefully consider what information should be public, hidden, or something in between. Typically, there are three data levels: profile data, your content, and your interaction with others' content.
• Likes, reposts, and comments. We usually think about limiting what we share, but your "likes" and comments on other posts are also public. Profile pictures, names, and comments often appear in search results, even for "private" accounts.

Remove unused mobile apps and browser extensions

For safety and privacy, it’s wise to scrutinize every app. The fewer accounts you have, the less risk you face.

First, download apps only from trusted sources like official app stores or websites.

Then, ask yourself: “How does this app make money?” This small trick can steer you toward privacy-focused apps. If you don’t understand how an app makes money, the answer might be user data.

Delete all programs you rarely or never use, from mobile apps to browser extensions. Even forgotten apps can remain active due to hidden features. For instance, eight popular Chrome and Firefox extensions contained code that tracked all browser activities, stealing data such as tax returns, medical records, and confidential designs from companies like Tesla and Apple

Don’t ignore software updates

Operating system and software developers release numerous updates addressing computer security vulnerabilities. Keeping your security software, web browsers, and operating systems up to date is your best defense against viruses, malware, and other online threats. Enable automatic updates to receive the latest fixes as they become available.

While using the Internet, you need to be very attentive and cautious. It is crucial to learn all the rules of online safety to avoid leaks of important information.