To be prepared in the digital age, you must first determine how much of an online presence or digital footprint you’d like to leave. A digital footprint is the sum of your traceable online activities across your devices.
It’s possible to digitally vanish and live completely off the grid by not using internet applications or devices. However, for many, the security of this lifestyle isn’t worth the convenience trade-off.
This article will address different ways to reduce your digital footprint and how to ultimately find the right degree of digital anonymity to fit your lifestyle and preparedness journey.
The Extent of Digital Footprints Today
With the number of internet users worldwide totaling in the billions, digital footprints are less like individual indentations and more like dusty digital highways of information.
As of July 2023, according to Statista, there are 5.19 billion internet users worldwide, which amounts to 64.6% of the entire population. Of these internet users, 4.88 billion people are social media users. Further, average internet users spend nearly 7 hours a day online, with 2.5 hours of this time spent on social media platforms. And people have on average 7.6 active social media accounts.
This time and usage amounts to a nearly unfathomable quantity of digital data detailing users’ search preferences, buying habits, locations, medical information, personal lives, beliefs, and more.
How To Minimize Your Digital Footprint
With each click and login resulting in a such large collection of personal information, managing your digital footprint can seem all but impossible. To avoid getting overwhelmed, it’s best to start by prioritizing the protection and privacy of the information that matters most.
Regardless of how much digital visibility you would like to have, start minimizing your digital footprint by protecting your personal data, location data, workplace information, and family information.
Protect Your Personal Data
Protect your personal data by looking at the platforms that collect the majority of your information and being considerate of what you openly share online.
Be selective when choosing your internet browser and email platform. There are dozens of options including Google, Safari, Yahoo, Bing, iCloud, and Edge, each with its own pros and cons. There are also newer browsers, such as Brave, that are specifically designed to protect user privacy. Read the fine print on what data these companies collect and be intentional with your privacy controls, no matter what browser you choose.
Secure your online activities by visiting HTTPS websites and using a virtual private network (VPN) while web browsing. Both of these tools limit the amount of unsecured data that can be shared with the World Wide Web via your internet browsers and websites.
Additionally, clear your cookies regularly. Cookies are bits of information stored whenever you click on a website. They record what you click on and how long you visit a site’s pages. They can be transmitted to third parties for advertising and marketing purposes.
Be extra conscientious about the personal data you openly share online through social media and lifestyle apps. If you’re using social media, are your accounts private or public? Do you post pictures of your face and appearance? Are you openly sharing about your religion or political beliefs? If you use health and fitness apps, are you sharing medical information? When compiled, all of this information and more can be used to identify you.
Protect Your Location Data
When it comes to sharing location data, focus particularly on protecting your home information. Whether or not you like to use location services for directions or to find local businesses, it’s a good practice to be hesitant about sharing your home’s location on the internet.
You can use a P.O. box address or mail forwarding to ensure you aren’t giving out your actual home address online.
You can also opt out of allowing browsers and websites to save your address information when making online purchases, and you can be selective with which e-commerce platforms you use.
Be conscious of information about your home’s location that you share online or on social media platforms — perhaps unintentionally. If your home’s profile, your cross streets, or your neighborhood is revealed in a photo, take care to utilize tools like photo editing to remove the background of these images. That way, you can still share your photo online, but without compromising your home’s security.
Protect Your Workplace
Work information is particularly sensitive as it represents your livelihood and your reputation.
Protect your workplace by not openly sharing your current company or employer online if it can be associated with a physical location. Be sensitive when posting pictures at your workplace or while wearing branded uniforms or attire.
If you work online as a remote worker or even when living off-the-grid in a van, your work data may be even more accessible and vulnerable. In these cases, especially if you’re working while traveling or living as a digital nomad, focus on securing your internet connection by getting unlimited data, using a hotspot, or getting a separate internet device. Doing so will allow you to work independently and avoid using public Wi-Fi, which comes with many security risks.
Protect Your Family and Friends
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, protect your family and friends by minimizing their personal information online. This is especially relevant on social media platforms.
Social media is an amazing tool for preppers to share their journeys and tips with their communities, as well as to learn from other preppers. It’s also a pool of personal information that may appeal to bad actors, as people openly share about their family members and generally generate a list of their friends and social connections.
You can protect your family and social connections by being aware of who is seeing your posts and being cautious of sharing personal details such as birthdays, schools or teachers, and plans or routines.
Conclusion
In the digital age, we face a trade-off between convenience, connection, and security. Accessing digital devices and online platforms adds a lot of value to our lives but it leaves a trail of our personal information, preferences, and buying habits.
There’s no right or wrong answer to what an ideal digital footprint looks like, so it’s up to you to determine the degree of digital visibility that is right for you and your family.
You, as the user, have the power to determine what information you would like to share and which online platforms you would like to use. So when it comes to managing and minimizing your digital footprint, start with the information that matters most, and continue on until you’ve found the right degree of digital visibility for yourself.
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