It’s important to note that data privacy isn’t so “private” anymore. Digital privacy used to be when you could use your device and the internet without worrying about who would infringe or steal your information. It used to be okay to share your name and other sensitive information for social media and other areas. Now, it’s not that safe, and creating a consistent trail for hackers seems to be the norm.
What exactly is true privacy?
Privacy means having control over what’s being shared. According to Surfshark, privacy also means trust and loyalty, which nurtures the relationship between consumers and brands. Protecting privacy used to mean customers could opt in to allowing certain usage or data collection. Now, not so much. Additionally, companies are not doing a great job of informing individuals how they will be using their data.
It’s important to know who collects information:
- Websites
Websites track their visitors to determine which pages are more engaging than others. They also track the number of visitors they get. This is a standard procedure, and companies use Google Analytics to record this information.
- Advertisers
Advertisers track via websites to determine the types of products and services people are interested in. They store this information to help create ads that draw interest seen on other sites to formulate hyper-target advertising to specific audiences.
- Social Media
When using the “Like” and “Share” buttons, those track interactions and preferences. The information is stored to use targeted ads.
Information gathered on each site is different and should be outlined in their privacy policy. It’s important to read the policy and find out what they are gathering.
How long is data stored?
Depending on the site, the data may or may not be stored. For those that do store the data, their data retention policy should outline how long and where. One of the cautions when dealing with sites that store data is the possibility of breaching, which could pose vulnerabilities to that data. The simplest thread of information could lead to larger consequences such as bank account breaches and more.
Sharing Information
One of the obvious concerns about data privacy is knowing who that data will be shared with. Any website being used should clearly state who receives user information. The privacy policy should list this, and the kind of information collected. If shared with third parties, this should also be outlined.
Controlling Information
Users should be able to delete their data from a service, exporting a file that includes all the data. Many people don’t realize how much data sites have collected, causing unexpected stress.
Its also important to know how the information is going to be used against the user. Here are a few ways:
- Real Time Price Targeting
Certain websites can determine how much users are willing to pay for a product based on their profile. Once they have the data, the prices are raised.
- Internet Marketing
Most data is used for marketing purposes, but once a user goes to different sites, that is a lot of information being passed around and shared between marketers and advertisers, opening the door for breach of privacy.
- Social Credit Systems
These types of systems are being implemented in different spaces. China utilizes this type of systems to determine their users level of social credit.
- Third Parties
In a number of cases, data is not always super secure. If major social media organizations like Facebook can get hacked releasing sensitive information, it’s best to consider other areas like email accounts and other places where data has been stored. Hackers work really hard to access certain information to try and infiltrate every part of their personal information.
So Why Does Privacy Matter?
Privacy provides a limit on other’s power, and gives respect for individuals. Privacy also plays a huge part in reputation management and maintaining social boundaries. Individuals should take data privacy seriously, as it has a huge impact on trust and having the right amount of control over their life. Privacy allows individuals to have freedom of though, speech, social and political activities. It also gives someone the ability to have a second chance at life. If all of those things are breached, it could become problematic and dangerous.
Here are a few ways to take data privacy more seriously. Only release data to organizations that:
- Know where your data is
- Understand the data collected
- Make sure it is in one place
- Update their privacy policy and communicates it to everyone
- Makes sure they have cybersecurity measures in place
Breaches occur every day, but making a concerted effort to limit the amount of data being shared can make a tremendous difference in accessibility. Users must learn how to create data sharing spaces that can provide a semblance of safety. While user data and privacy can be compromised at any level, monitoring the amount of data and where things are shared is key.
Algorithmic websites have changed their methods of predicting what users are interested in and what they will click on. Once people believe their online activity is being watched, they may be less likely to seek out more information outside of the norm.
Taking these things into account, users should pay attention to what is going on around them. The GDPR has put protocols in place to protect users and their data, which forces organizations to take a second look at how they gather, use and retrieve data. While it may be scary to consider data breaches, it is important to realize data gathering is alive and well, and it may be difficult to get around certain information being gathered. Doing due diligence in protecting sensitive information is the recommended course of action that makes sense.
Taking data privacy seriously is no longer an option, but a necessity to ensure identities are not compromised and remain intact no matter which website or platform is being used to gather internal information for the user. Knowing how to prevent this makes the difference.
This content is a joint venture between our publication and our partner. We do not endorse any product or service in the article.
