Privacy: Take control

There’s a lot going on in the world about governments snooping on citizens, and hacker groups trying to gain control over your facebook.

While these are genuine concerns, it probably shouldn’t be the biggest worry for most citizens. It is always easier to point the finger at a boogeyman, and blame all your woes on it.

Rather, let’s turn this around and see what can we do to protect ourselves, and those around us better.

I’m by no means advocating shunning technology altogether, but rather to be more mindful of what you are sharing online and with whom. When you need to fill out an online form in order to get internet access, do you really need to answer everything truthfully with your real name, address, and date of birth? Do you really need to share details of all your holiday plans in advance?

What about privacy settings on social media? Does it really need to be completely open to the public?

It requires a bit of discipline, and it won’t work in every instance, but by taking a few steps and building them into your online habits, you can take back a bit of control of your privacy.