Managing your digital footprint

Your digital footprint is the trail of data you leave behind every time you go online. While it’s nearly impossible to be completely invisible on the internet, you can still take steps to manage what you share. Being mindful of your online activity helps protect your personal information and strengthens your cybersecurity.

Think twice before sharing

Every time a website or app asks you to share personal details or any data, take a moment. Ask yourself a few questions:

• Why is the service asking for this?
• Does the app or website really need this data to work?
• What do I get in return?

For example, your GPS app needs your location to give accurate, real-time directions. But a store’s coupon app doesn’t need constant location access. The less data you give, the less you expose.

Use a password manager to review your online accounts

A password manager helps you generate strong, unique passwords for every account. They also provide other benefits, like displaying just how many accounts you’ve created over time.

Use your password manager to:

• Identify old or unused accounts.
• Delete accounts you don’t need.
• Update weak or reused passwords.

Avoid creating unnecessary new accounts

Almost all websites these days push users to create accounts, even for one-time purchases. This is because your data is so valuable! But every new account increases your exposure to spam, trackers, and potential data breaches.

If you don’t think you need an account when purchasing from a website, use guest checkout!

Fewer accounts mean a smaller digital footprint and less for you to manage and protect.

Adjust your privacy settings

Today, some accounts, like Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft, are hard to avoid. However, you can limit how much data they collect.

• Review and adjust privacy settings regularly.
• Limit what information is public, like who can see your social media posts.
• Restrict what data platforms can access, track or store.

Browse and post with care

It’s easier to prevent privacy issues than to clean up after them. Here are a few habits to adopt:

• Use private or “Incognito” browsing to avoid saving history and cookies.
• Limit what you post on social media. Know that even private posts and DMs can leak.
• Don’t post private, identifiable information like birth dates, travel plans and addresses.

Take charge of your digital footprint

You don’t need to go off the grid to maintain your digital footprint. By taking small, intentional steps to reduce it, you can improve your data privacy, reduce the risk of scams and breaches, and build better online habits that will last a lifetime.