For years now, your personal data has been under attack by a variety of sources, and the problem is only getting worse. But while most people relate this issue to cybercrime activity and direct identity targeting, the reality is, many of us freely divulge too much information about ourselves in our everyday lives without even realizing it.
Society now thrives off of the efficiency of digital data storage and accessibility. Smart devices, big data analytics systems, and AI-enabled technologies continue to provide many improvements in how we live our lives and play a major role in advancing personal and business data security.
However, it’s important to understand the dangers of allowing too much access to your personal information and how you use certain services and applications. Here are four areas where you could reveal too much information about yourself and what you can do to keep your data protected.
Social Media Profiles
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have become a major part of people’s lives and are now a preferred method of communication with friends and family. But while social media profiles give us the opportunity to express our likes, interests, and other important traits of our personalities, they are also a revealing source of sensitive data.
It’s important to carefully consider what you post on social media and who is able to access it. Because social media platforms are publicly accessible, there are dangers of providing too much information to the wrong people. You should never accept friend requests from people you don’t know, verify all your contacts, and be conservative with the amount of information you post about yourself. It’s also a best practice to always review the privacy policy and conditions of any social media platform you visit to clearly understand how your information is being stored and accessed.
Search History
Your internet search history says a lot about who you are, including your interests and purchasing habits. But most people don’t realize that many websites and applications actively track this information and use it to collect and store data about you. Companies can then use this data to target you for specific advertisements, email spam, telemarketing calls, and other forms of outreach that might be considered a nuisance or invasion of privacy.
The government has released certain data privacy laws in recent years that require all websites and services to request access from you directly when they wish to collect, store and transmit any information relating to your search history. In most cases, this will come in the form of a pop-up as you visit a new website requesting the ability to do this. It’s vitally important that you read these stipulations before blindly accepting their terms. These terms can vary considerably and you could be inadvertently agreeing to give up many of your privacy rights without even knowing it.
Location Tracking
Global positioning system (GPS) technology has come a long way since its inception for the military in the 1980s. Now, GPS capabilities come standard in our smartphones, laptops, vehicles, and other connected mobile devices. The technology is useful because it uses satellite tracking of the precise location of GPS-enabled devices which can then be tracked or stored for a variety of purposes. However, with so many third-party applications and services using this technology, there is a risk of violating your civil privacy rights.
GPS privacy issues have become more prevalent as consumers have educated themselves on their rights. You have the right to control the location information that is collected and stored by the GPS devices you use. Understand that not all applications and services comply with the same standards of information storage, so it’s wise to review your devices access permissions and turn off any features you do not agree with.
Job Applications
Another area of data exposure is through the submission of job applications, cover letters, and professional resumes. As HR teams go through their recruitment process, it’s common to try to get a basic sense of an applicant’s abilities before they even interview them. This is helpful in short-listing candidates and lowers the potential of interviewing under- or over-qualified candidates who would not be a good fit for the company. However, it’s wise to consider the amount of information you divulge on your resume, as it could be revealing more about yourself than needed.
While you want to give a potential employer basic information about who you are and what type of position you’re looking for, you should never share information like your marital status, ethnicity, age, or religious beliefs on an application. This data shouldn’t be relevant for any position you’re wishing to fill and would never be used to make a hiring decision. Providing salary expectations on a resume or providing personal references without being asked for them is also another area you want to avoid.
It’s important to remember that most HR representatives will only quickly scan your resume before deciding if it’s worth meeting for an interview. The information you provide should clear, concise, and relevant, but shouldn’t be designed to answer every potential question that an employer will ask. This not only gives you something to discuss in the interview, but it will also protect you from oversharing personal information that’s unnecessary.
Data privacy concerns shouldn’t steer you from enjoying the benefits of newer connected technologies and the efficiencies they provide. However, by placing restrictions on the amount of personal information you share, especially on social platforms, applications, and services, as well as consider the use of password managers in and out of the office, it will go a long way in keeping your privacy protected.
