How to Improve Your Online and Real-World Privacy
While improving your approach to online and real-world privacy might not be on the top of everyone’s lists of priorities, it’s certainly something that should be on your list. You don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you’re going to have your privacy compromised in a way that might not be very simple to reverse. There are several steps you can take to ensure that this doesn’t happen. There’s a lot of overlap between those two aims, so read on to find out more.
Protect your digital devices appropriately!
Your devices contain all kinds of sensitive and personal information that you probably want to keep protected. The better you get at locking down your devices, the more secure you will be. Make sure to use biometrics and complicated passwords, too. The use of better security for your device, the better it is as a whole. The best way to keep your devices safe is to ensure they are locked and unlocked with biometrics. Also, think about apps that are open on these devices and be sure to enable two-factor authentication. The use of two-factor authentication (2FA) is when users are required to enter two different pieces of information before they can log in.
Make use of a VPN
Using a VPN, you can make your online activity fully anonymous. This software routes all traffic through an encrypted tunnel, preventing anyone from potentially tracking you or finding your location. You can set your whereabouts to be anywhere in the world, making the online activity of everyone else wholly anonymous; This is a must for anyone who wants to keep their location private and secure online. You may want to avoid using your regular social media accounts as it could help to unmask you even behind a VPN. Understanding that not all VPN services are equal, for which you should research them!
Check your privacy settings!
Taking a closer look at your privacy settings on your devices and the accounts you use most often is a good idea. These things might be tracking your location and movements more than you realize, and you can make adaptations to how that’s happening by changing your settings. If you want to stay private, maximize the settings on your phone and other primary devices and accounts.
Use a Postal Box, PO Box
If you are worried about giving your address out every time you order something online, you might want to consider using a physical address. You can find postal boxes throughout the city, such as UPS counters, post office spaces and more. These are addresses that allow you to take deliveries without anyone having access to your real-home address. It can be a good idea if you don’t want your address to be out there and known to the world.
Make use of APPS with End-to-End Encryption!
When you’re communicating and messaging with people, you should try to stick to applications that use end to end encryption. Ensure you do so because when you have an end-to-end level of encryption in place, it means that no one can penetrate or intercept your communications, no matter how hard they might try to do so. There are many messaging apps out there that offer this feature, but many don’t so be careful.
Privacy is paramount, and it’s under threat in a variety of ways. From governments to hackers and a range of other threats, there are many reasons you might have for wanting to protect yourself and your right to privacy. So start taking steps in the right direction with the help of the tips above.
