Recently, concerns about users’ data and privacy have increased due to social media and the Internet, as social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have become digital advertising interfaces for Internet users only, and this foretells the great danger that may affect your data, as you must now protect it As much as possible.
Why is social media dangerous for your information?
In social media, people share their news, photos, personal opinions, almost everything that happens in their lives, and this vast amount of information that people share – some of which is very personal – tempts stranger viewers who are not within their circle of trusted relatives and friends, as they work to gather information For other purposes, these people may be advertising companies, or cybercriminals who have an interest in knowing your personal information.
Social networks invade your privacy every day
It is no longer a secret that major technology companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and others are striving to collect as much information and data as possible from their users to be used for other purposes such as electronic advertising, facial recognition, and the use of user data.
For example, Facebook extracts user data without their permission, and it also collects your photos using a face recognition database. Since 2011, Facebook has been developing facial recognition technology to learn more about the look of this person, and this is devastating to privacy. Using one of your photos will be able to anyone Someone can find all your information through your photos published during your life on Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites, and extract a lot of information from them.
- As long as you use the Internet, your data is always at risk, and you should know that everything you do on social media and websites eventually goes to the main
- servers of major companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. to be stored and used for other purposes such as commercials,
- and a lot of Things that are hidden until the moment, and the best evidence of this is what the European Union is doing in making decisions that may lead to the permanent suspension of Facebook in European
- countries due to its violation of users’ privacy. You should know that the ultimate goal of these companies is to only make more profits regardless of your privacy or your data.
I advise you to make your use of social media very limited and if you can stay away from it, it is much better, be careful when searching on Google, or when posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, all of them are platforms that collect your data and information in any way, even if it is a simple comment Or, search for information on Google.
Can you control your privacy on social media?
Each individual is responsible for the privacy of his data in his accounts on social media, you just have to adjust some options to move your privacy from weak to strong, in order to provide better protection for your information online, but despite that, it is difficult for you to control your privacy 100% on social media, this Because even if you do everything that would protect your data, there will remain gaps, for example, if you decide to delete your account, your friends and relatives will still share your personal information, and even if you delete the social networking applications installed on your phone, this will not work if your privacy from the beginning is weak for this from It is important to protect your privacy online before you share anything on any communication platform.
How do you protect your privacy on social media?
Here are some tips to help you protect your privacy on social media
Read and understand the privacy terms carefully
Each website has its own privacy terms, including social networking sites, so before you create an account, or log into a communication platform, you must read and understand its privacy terms, pay attention to the privacy terms associated with sharing the information you record, and agree to share it when Register for an account on a social media platform, for example, look at the privacy content that talks about sharing your information with a third party, and whether you can delete your content from the platform permanently or not, these are all very important information that you should know Before deciding to create your personal account.
Adjust privacy settings
After you understand the privacy settings, and know the weaknesses in them, you should now start adjusting them, as you will find the “Privacy Settings” option within the settings, but before that I want to point out to you that each social networking platform has default privacy settings, most of which may allow you to share your information with other users from Third parties online, so resetting them limits the amount of information the social media platform can share with other users you don’t know.
Your biographical information
To register an account on many social media platforms, you will be asked to provide information about your biography such as your full name, year of birth, age, or address. Information Cyber criminals have enough data to harm you, so try as much as possible to reduce your personal information on social media.
Account Information
Never post sensitive information like the schools closest to your home, your bank account information, your previous or current place of work, or your general interests.
Ignore friend requests from people you don’t know
You don’t have to accept all friend requests from people on social media, especially those you don’t know, so you should be careful when accepting friends, following them, or stranger contacts, and before accepting any follow, friend request Find the sender, and understand who he is. And what does it do? And what kind of content does he share?
Turn off your site
While adjusting your privacy settings, never forget to turn off the feature to share your location with the social media platform you are using, this way you will avoid giving the platform information about the places you frequent.
Be careful about posting photos online
Before you post any photo, think twice. Posting photos on social media is a risky activity. For example, a simple photo of your child, even if his name does not appear, may reveal a lot of information such as your home location, which makes you and your family members a target. Tempting for cybercriminals.
Avoid commenting with a point
While browsing Facebook, you certainly saw a lot of posts that encourage you to comment in order to get something tempting, such as commenting a point to get a valuable gift. And I should point out to you that social media platforms are not responsible for what third-party apps do.
Security tips to protect your privacy on social media
You should consider these tips in any site or application that needs to register an account in order to protect your privacy, and your account information, here are some important security tips
- Choose a strong and secure password.
- Do not use one password for all of your accounts.
- Be sure to change your passwords periodically.
- Avoid logging into public computers, or using friends’ phones to log into your accounts.
- Be careful when connecting to a public wireless network, and if possible use a VPN app.
- Avoid clicking on links other people post on social media.
- Protect your devices with a strong password to protect your social media accounts in case they are lost or stolen.
