Blog 9 - Privacy

I have accounts on several social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Linkedin, and more. I use an iPhone that has my fingerprint as a login method. Prior to this school year I never thought twice about the information I put on the platforms regarding the information that could be gathered. 

In the past year, I have noticed more where after searching for products on a website or talking to a friend about a product, I would later see what I was looking at being advertised on social media. A strange example is that I was once talking to a friend about something regarding being TSA pre-checked at the airport. Later in the day I was scrolling on Twitter and there was an advertisement about TSA Pre-checking. This was so strange to me because I never searched it, and that is not something that would typically be advertised to me. 

From that point on, I am convinced phones and other electronic devices are listening. This article backed up my belief and provided some tips on what to do about it. These devices likely know more about me than my parents or best friends. While this may totally freak out some people, I just go on about living my life. Most of the data they collect is in order to target me more directly with products, services, or events I might be interested in. I honestly do not mind this because I get exposed to brands and products I otherwise might not have seen. 

The information that is gained that can be concerning includes location or bank account information. I try to be careful in these areas because I don't want someone to use my account and I'd rather live without getting kidnapped or stalked. 

I should be smarter about how I search and do things online. Today in class, I learned several ways to protect some of my privacy. For example, I could use a search engine like Duck Duck Go instead of Safari or Google Chrome because that engine does not use cookies or hold my information. I read more about this search engine on the about page. I also learned it is important to close out of browsers so that next time I go online, I am starting fresh. Additionally, I can start using a VPN to encrypt messages and data so that they do not get stored anywhere, rather only the person I send the message to is receiving it. 

There's truly no telling all of the information that the government has on me from these third party platforms, and honestly I am okay living in the unknown. I just hope it is not used against me at some point. The technology world is constantly changing and becoming more advanced day by day. It is important to be smart online with the information being shared, and I pledge to improve my privacy settings from this point forward.