If you’ve read about how commonplace it now is for individuals to have their personal information and browsing habits tracked by third parties, it’s well worth continuing reading to discover a few useful tips from James Scott ICIT on how to take back control of your data.
Useful tips on taking control of your data:
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Think twice before liking or sharing posts on Facebook
Did you know that every time you like a post on a social media site such as Facebook or Instagram, Facebook uses an algorithm to ascertain your likes and dislikes in order to carefully market products and services to you, from a wide range of companies who pay Facebook to market their businesses.
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Be wary about using your Facebook account to log into third party apps
If you frequently download apps such as games onto your smart phone, you may find that you’re often encouraged to log into new apps using your Facebook account.
However, it pays to think twice about giving in and logging into apps using your Facebook account, in order to avoid having to create new accounts with each app as there is a high chance that the third parties who have created your apps, may be able to gain personal information about you, from your Facebook login.
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Adjust your settings to prevent your computer or smart device from storing cookies
In order to protect your data from falling into the wrong hands, it’s well worth ensuring that you’ve set your computer or smart phone’s settings to prevent your device from storing cookies. That way if a website which you visit, prompts you to accept the storage of cookies, you’ll have the choice of avoiding the website in question altogether, in order to protect your data!
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Download a safe, reputable ad blocking program
One simple way to cut down on the number of websites, which will try and steal your data is to quickly download a highly rated ad blocking program. Which will automatically deleted any unnecessary cookies and which will prevent websites from stealing valuable personal data such as your full name, address, credit card details, your friends’ names and your spending habits.
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Think twice before sharing personal data on social media sites
Whilst the vast majority of individuals own at least one social media account and frequent social media usage has become a normalized part of most people’s everyday routines, it pays to think twice before sharing unnecessary personal data on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram.
Keep in mind that any information which you choose to share on social media may be tracked and collected as marketing data by digital marketing companies. An example of which is Cambridge Analytica, which collected personal data from millions of social media users, without expressed permission.
So what are you waiting for? It’s well worth implementing the useful tips listed above right away, in order to protect your data from being stolen in the future! As most free social media sites have been set up to collect personal data from millions of users!