While there are benefits to having a digital footprint, it doesn't mean you have to have a large one. It might be good to look at reducing it and thinking a little more about what you do online. Some things you can do are:
Be more selective about what you share. Avoid posting sensitive personal information online, such as your full birthdate, PPS number, address, phone number, or financial details.
Think before you post; consider the long-term impact of the information, photos, or opinions you share online. Once posted, content can be difficult to remove completely. Follow the BBC's social media guidance for their staff: summarised as "Don't do anything stupid". Some other BBC guidelines:
Are you the same person you were 10 years ago? Perhaps you're a little wiser and more mature. Look at what you posted back then; does it stand the test of time, or are there potentially embarrassing posts that you might want to hide? To give one example, English cricketers have been sanctioned because of historical racist and sexist tweets. Rightly or wrongly, the Internet never forgets!
Think about having two accounts on each of the platforms you use: one public-facing to show off your best side and a private one for connecting with friends and family (but still minding what you post)
Consider reducing the amount of time you spend on social media or limiting your activity to essential interactions. Is that "funny" video hilarious enough to share with your network? Again, think before you post. When possible, browse content on social media anonymously without logging into your account to reduce data tracking.
Regularly check and update the privacy settings on your social media accounts to control who can see your posts, photos, and personal information (see the Social Media page in this section for instructions on how to make your accounts private).
Adjust privacy settings in your web browser to block third-party cookies, disable tracking, and use “Do Not Track” requests ('Do Not Track is a web browser setting that requests websites not to track you. It is only voluntary, and some websites will continue to track you despite requesting not to be tracked)
In addition, there are a few web browser extensions that will block trackers:
Periodically search for your name online to see what information is publicly available. If you find outdated or incorrect information, take steps to try to remove it. Search your name in image search engines to see what photos or images are linked to your name. What you might find is:
Of course, having a common name or sharing your name with a celebrity will make material about you more difficult to find!
Delete or deactivate old social media, email, and online service accounts that you no longer use. This reduces the amount of personal data stored online. Use Account clean-up tools; these are services that help you find and close old or unused accounts by searching for accounts associated with your email addresses.
Use private browsing or incognito mode when you don’t want your browsing history to be saved. Think about using a more privacy-focused web browser, such as Brave or Firefox. Think too about using a using privacy-focused search engine, like DuckDuckGo or StartPage, neither of which will track your search history.
You may consider using a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt your internet connection, making it more difficult for third parties to track your online activities.
When you see a cookie banner on a site, select the 'reject all'/ 'reject non-essential cookies' button whenever one is available.
Use tools like Google Ad Settings and withdraw consent from sharing your data.
Review the permissions you grant to apps on your smartphone or tablet. Limit access to only necessary data and features (e.g., location, contacts, camera). Regularly review and delete apps that you no longer use or that require excessive permissions.
Regularly delete cookies, cache, and browsing history from your web browser to remove stored data that websites use to track you. Consider setting your browser to automatically delete your browsing history after each session.
Again, there are web browser extensions, such as Cookie AutoDelete that can automatically delete cookies for you, though they may require some set-up.
Take some time to pause and reflect before clicking on a link or posting something.
Keep up with the latest privacy and security news to understand new threats and best practices for protecting your digital footprint.
Learn more about digital literacy and privacy issues to make more informed decisions about your online behaviour and data sharing.
Following these suggestions can help you reduce your digital footprint, better protect your privacy, and give you more control over what you share online.
