6 tips to reduce your digital footprint online
Whether registering on a website, making an online purchase, publishing content on social networks or simply searching for answers to questions in browsers. The fact is that people are constantly sharing information online even without realizing it. This trail of data that one leaves behind when surfing the Internet is what is known as the digital footprint. The problem is that it is not always so obvious, since there are two different types, the so-called active fingerprints and passive fingerprints.
A user is building their active digital footprint when they voluntarily share their information, such as through images uploaded to their social networks or by creating an account with their data on certain web pages. However, those of a passive nature are much more subtle. These have to do with the collection of data that occurs in a manner beyond the user’s knowledge. For example, the fact that websites collect information about users, such as their IP address or the number of visits they make.
How can you reduce your digital footprint on the internet?
A person’s digital footprint is something relatively public, which anyone can access. And, in the case of cybercriminals, access to more private and compromised information can give rise to undesirable scenarios that bring with them considerable serious consequences, such as scams or identity theft. For all these reasons, in order to protect privacy, some people have decided to remedy this situation and protect their digital footprint on the Internet to reduce it as much as possible. Something that can be achieved by following a series of recommendations.
Tips to reduce your digital footprint on the internet
1
Check the fingerprint. The first step is to discover, through the use of search engines, what data is currently available. This way, the relevant processes can be started to try to eliminate them if that is what is desired.
2
Disable third-party cookies. This will prevent them from tracking the user’s activity.
3
Be careful with the social networks. Before sharing content, or even creating an account on these, you will have to take into account how this will affect your digital footprint.
4
Use multiple browsers. In this way, what is achieved is to prevent all personal information from being concentrated in a single profile.
5
Create strong passwords. In addition, you must remember to change them regularly to increase their protective capacity.5
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