You have left files about who you are and what you like across the entire Internet. Here we will see how you can limit what you leave behind – your digital footprint, also known as digital footprint.
Like real footprints, a digital footprint shows a complete history of where you've been and what you've done. It shows your searches, what you've bought, what sites you've visited, and the opinions you've expressed on social media.
Many profit‑seeking companies, both legitimate and illegitimate, can profit by knowing your history better. Governments, also, would like to get into ’ this game.
So below you can get a good idea to regain control of digital footprint.
- Be careful with social media
On every online service you use, check your privacy settings. On Facebook, for example, you can find them by clicking the lock icon in the top right corner of the screen and scrolling through the various options.
But that's not enough. Before you post your entry, review what you say and, seeing it, ask yourself if this is something you would want your parents, your children, your in-laws, your boss, or the tax authorities to read. And then make sure you make it visible only to the people you want to see it.
- Use multiple identities
The information you share on a network site can be combined with information from another, creating a more complete file about who you are! To protect yourself, try to be different people on different sites.
Some sites identify you based on your name, but many recognize you also from your email address. Therefore, use different addresses on different sites. Also consider the case of using different credit cards.
Blur, a free extension for Chrome and Firefox, lets you mask your email address. When you enter your email into an online form, Blur lets you generate a new, random address. This address matches your real address, but the sender never sees it.
If you are willing to pay $39 per year or $79 for three years – Blur Premium can also cover your phone numbers and credit card numbers.
- Search privately
Your browsing program knows a lot about you and shares this information with many strangers. But there are methods to control this situation.
Your browser almost certainly has a “private window” where it won’t save your cookies, searches, or history. In Chrome, it’s called New incognito window. In Internet Explorer and Edge , it’s called InPrivate Browsing, and finally, in Firefox, New Private Window. That’s all well and good, but it’s not perfect! The government can still see where you’ve been, and every site you visit still sees your IP address.
An even better solution is to use the Tor browser, which hides your IP address and encrypts everything for most of the way between your computer and anyone else you communicate with, essentially erasing digital footprint. Think of it as a very private private mode!
