As part of the ongoing story, yet bits and pieces of it end up there anyway through social media posts, app permissions, shopping habits, and countless websites that quietly collect data behind the scenes. Before long it’s easy for third parties to piece together a surprisingly detailed picture of your life. Most people don’t intentionally publish their personal information online.
The report highlights that in many cases, it simply comes down to making small changes to how you use the apps and services you rely on every day. If your information is already out there, privacy-focused data removal services can also help reduce your exposure by requesting that data brokers remove your personal records. The good news is that protecting your privacy doesn’t require throwing away your devices and holing up in a cabin.
According to the latest update, here are seven ways you might be making your personal information public online—and what you can do to stop it.
In a fresh development, data brokers feed that information—and removing it yourself takes hours. Incogni sends removal requests automatically, across hundreds of brokers. Less exposure, zero effort. Searching your name on Google reveals more than you’d like.
As part of the ongoing story, that vacation photo might tell people you’re away from home. That birthday post can give away your date of birth. Family photos can reveal the names of your children, the school they attend, or even your neighborhood. All of these things together can help build a surprisingly detailed profile of you. Social media makes it easy to share life’s big moments, but it can also reveal far more than intended.
According to the latest update, before posting, take a moment to look beyond the subject of the photo and consider what other information is visible. The solution isn’t to stop using social media, but to be more selective about what you share.
In a fresh development, it’s also worth reviewing older posts to take down anything that you may have let slip in the past. You’d be surprised how much personal information you’ve shared over the years without realizing it. It’s important to avoid sharing sensitive details like your home address, travel plans while you’re still away, or documents that contain personal information.
Industry observers note that make sure that you limit who can view your profiles on social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, X, and others.
As part of the ongoing story, public profiles allow some account details—profile pics, bios, friends or followers lists, and past posts—to be visible to anyone unless you change the default settings. On the topic of social media, unless you’re trying to gain a following, you should probably make your profiles private.
In a fresh development, if you do find your info on Google Search, follow our step-by-step guide on how to get it removed. In some cases, your profile can even appear in Google search results, making it much easier for strangers to find information about you.
The report highlights that limit who can see your posts, hide your friends or followers list where possible, and disable search engine indexing if the option is available. Take a few minutes to review your privacy settings on every social media ecosystem you use.
As part of the ongoing story, most social networks patch their privacy controls over time, so even if you’ve configured them before, it’s a good idea to revisit them every so often to make sure you’re still sharing only what you want.
Industry observers note that they want your location, contacts, photos, and sometimes your microphone and camera. Sometimes the apps really need these to function properly. For example, a map app needs your location to show where you are, or a messaging app needs your camera to send photos. But a lot of apps ask for way more than they need. Apps ask for a lot of access to your data.
In a fresh development, they can then share that data with advertisers or other firms, based on what their privacy policy allows. That extra access lets app developers build a database of your habits, interests, and movements.
The report highlights that both Android and iPhone show you exactly which apps can use your location, camera, microphone, contacts, and photos. If a permission doesn’t match what the app does, turn it off. It’s also a good idea to pick “Only while using the app” instead of “Always allow.” Finally, do a spring cleaning by deleting any apps you don’t use anymore. In order to maintain control over your app data you need to check your app permissions on a regular basis.
According to the latest update, the less you share with each app, the less data sits out there waiting to get collected, sold, or leaked in a breach.
The report highlights that hidden tools that track what you do such as cookies, tracking pixels, browser fingerprinting, and third-party scripts let websites and ad firms record which pages you visit, which products you look at, and how long you stay on a site. Every time you visit a site, something is probably watching your activity.
The report highlights that sometimes that browsing data goes to data brokers too, who add it to the files they keep on millions of people and sell it to practically anyone. Over time, advertisers collect this data, build a profile on you, then repurpose it to send you targeted ads.
According to the latest update, decline cookies whenever a site gives you the choice. Use a browser built for privacy that blocks trackers by default. Install a trusted ad or tracker blocker. Clear your cookies now and then. Check your browser’s privacy settings and turn on functions that limit cross-site tracking. You can’t stop all tracking, but you can make it harder.
According to the latest update, if you use the same address for shopping, social media, newsletters, and streaming, firms can link all that activity together.
In a fresh development, or if that address leaks in a data breach, savvy scammers can use it to send you dangerous phishing emails. Advertisers and data brokers can also match it with other data they’ve collected, building a more comprehensive profile of you.
Industry observers note that use one for important accounts like banking and healthcare. Use another for shopping. Use a third for newsletters or one-time signups. The fix here is simple: Stop using one email address for everything.
Industry observers note that it creates a unique address for each site and forwards the messages to your main inbox creating an extra layer of protection and anonymity. Even better, use an email alias service.
In a fresh development, photos carry GPS coordinates in their hidden metadata. Fitness apps record your detailed running routes. Geotagged social media posts and check-ins can show where you live, where you work, and where you spend your free time. You might not be aware of this, but many apps track your location in the background, even when you’re not using them.
Industry observers note that check which apps use your location and turn off access for any that don’t truly need it. Like I mentioned previously, when an app does need your location, pick “Only while using the app” instead of allowing constant access. Fortunately, it’s easy to reduce your location footprint.
According to the latest update, sharing vacation photos after you return is a much safer habit than announcing your trip while you’re still there. You should also disable location tagging in your camera app if you don’t need it and avoid posting your whereabouts in real time—especially while you’re away from home.
As part of the ongoing story, but there’s a good chance one has a detailed file on you anyway. I explain how they collect your data in my other guide, but here’s the short version: Data brokers pull and compile data on you from dozens of places including public records, loyalty programs, mobile apps, website trackers, social media, and even other businesses that sell customer data. Practically any of the habits that I covered in this article all feed the profiles data brokers build and sell on you. Most people have never talked to a data broker.
According to the latest update, put together, these digital dossiers reveal your detailed interests, shopping habits, relationships, income, home address, and more.
The report highlights that apart from all of the habits listed above, you can also exercise your privacy rights by opting out of data collection or requesting that your information be deleted directly from these data broker sites. Completely avoiding data brokers isn’t realistic, but you can make their job much harder.
Industry observers note that services such as Incogni, DeleteMe, Optery, and Aura are reputable services that automate this process on your behalf. If you don’t want to handle hundreds of opt-out requests on your own, a good data removal service can do the work for you.
According to the latest update, they can’t erase every trace of you from the internet, but they can significantly reduce how much of your personal information is available publicly. They contact data brokers, ask them to remove your information, and keep checking for fresh listings over time.
In a fresh development, when he's not on the hunt for the best computer deals he's covering VPNs, productivity programs, laptops, and a wide gamut of consumer-grade devices and programs. Sam Singleton is PCWorld's VPN beat reporter and jack of all trades.