Six tips to protect your privacy online

Data Privacy Day is Jan. 28, and it is a good time to remember that you, as a consumer, have ownership of your online presence and personal information.

With technology all around us in our everyday lives we tend to become desensitized to privacy notices and freely share our personal information or click "ok" without really understanding the implications. In this increasingly data-driven world, it is even more important that we be diligent about protecting our data and our privacy.

Below are six key privacy practices to help you protect your personal data:

1. Set your profiles to "friends only" instead of "public." This is an easy fix that tremendously limits who has access to your information. Posting pictures and details about where you are and who you are with on a regular basis tells a lot you. Do you really want to share this information with a random stranger? Limit sharing to "friends only" and make sure those you are friending are people you know and trust.
2. Turn off lock screen notifications. Social media messages or other private notifications can pop-up on your phone’s lock screen at any time for anyone to see. Hide these personal details from others by turning off the “show on lock screen” setting in the app or disable notifications. Also turn off previews for texts and messaging to only show the name of the person texting you.
   
   
3. Use a private browser or network. Be careful using free public WiFi because it is an unsecured network. Use a virtual private network, or VPN, that you trust or use your private, secured network at home. Even when home, use private browsing mode or incognito mode to avoid the browser remembering your search history and the pages you visited.
   
   
4. Update your privacy settings. Check the privacy settings on your personal devices and online services. Read the privacy notice of the service provider to know what information they are collecting and how they are using it. Are they selling it to third party marketers? Limit what information you share and consider deleting or requesting deletion of certain personal information.
   
   
5. Turn off location services always or when not using the app. Location services should be used sparingly, only when using the app and only when necessary (example: Google Maps or the weather). If you always allow location services, apps are tracking where you are at all times, painting a picture of your daily life. Does a shopping app really need to know this information?
   
   
6. Turn on two-factor authentication. Two-factor or multi-factor authentication requires a user to provide one or more additional pieces of information or factors besides just a password in order to access an account, such as a generated code sent to your smartphone. The website https://twofactorauth.org/ has a list of websites or apps that support 2FA and how to enable it.

For more information and resources, go to The National Cyber Security Alliance website.