The closest thing to space right now is data. There’s no end to how much data you can amass on the Internet. You might not be looking to collect endless amounts of data, but the reality is others are. Let’s talk a little bit about data mining.
Over 300 hours of data are uploaded on YouTube per minute, which amounts to more than 1 billion gigabytes. Facebook processes over 2.5 billion content units daily, and you can only imagine what Google collects in that space of time.
Suppose a moderate Facebook user downloaded the data Facebook has on them. They’d receive no less than 20000 pages of data, including shared messages, declined friend requests, advertisements they interacted with, and every like and comment they dropped.
The point is, data is limitless, and so are the things that can be done with it. However, data doesn’t just sprout from nowhere. It takes coordinated efforts to leave your data for others to mine. And while you can’t eradicate leaving residues of your digital actions, you can do a lot to leave the barest minimum behind.
Here are essential tips on how to minimize your digital footprint.
1. Share less personal information
Sharing less personal information is as obvious as it gets. If you don’t have to share personal details, then do well not to. This point also applies to filling out forms and questionnaires from websites and netizens that you are not obligated to.
2. Toughen your privacy settings
Sometimes you can’t help but give private information to certain data companies. However, you can control how they acquire that information and what they do with it. Social media platforms allow you to restrict access to your data. It’s as simple as choosing the private button over the public one.
Web browsers also allow you to maintain some level of privacy. You can always choose to share your browser cookies only when you’re comfortable doing so. Of course, some websites are relentlessly trying to steal your information, but almost every verified web browser has features preventing third parties from scavenging your digital footprints. Nonetheless, these features only work when activated. So make sure you turn them on.
3. Delete dormant accounts
Having multiple dormant emails and social media accounts puts you at risk of data theft. Regardless of how old your inactive accounts are, they still retain your digital footprints, including passwords, date of birth, and contact information.
Deleting old and inactive accounts will prevent impostors from stealing your identity. Also, if you don’t need a newsletter subscription, it’s only safer to unsubscribe from it.
4. Only use trusted file-sharing platforms
If it’s too big to send through conventional emails, try using a file-sharing platform that keeps your data encrypted during and after transit. Bigg.ly does just that. Visit our blogs to learn more about data mining.