How to Protect Your Online Privacy

If there’s one thing you learn the more time you spend online and the more headlines you read, it’s that your data (your preferences, your age, gender, location, etc.) is the most valuable asset you have – even more valuable than your money. In many ways, it paves the way for accessible services like a free phone number (hello!), entertainment, news, social connections, and more. But like most things, there is a downside to it, which is that you’re willingly giving up your data (not all personal) to corporations that you may not want to have that data (cough Meta cough).  

If you’re starting to feel that way or just want to take a few extra precautions in protecting your online privacy, fret not! We’ve put together a simple guide on which settings on your phone you can change, which tools you can use instead, and how to protect yourself from password data leaks.

1. Optimize your phone settings for better privacy

1. Manage your permissions.  
   The privacy basic that you should know about any app that you use on your phone is that they all ask for/enable certain tracking permissions by default. You can selectively turn those off through your phone settings, under “Privacy & Security” (iOS) or “Privacy” (Android). But first, let’s find out what those top permissions actually mean:  
   
   – Location: lets apps see where you physically are by means of GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and/or mobile networks. This is beneficial for better ad targeting, so you can get ads for promotions in locations near you. But if you prefer to keep your location anonymous, or at the very least, only let apps track it while they’re in use (and not all the time in the background), you can change that setting.  
   
   – Camera: lets apps take photos or record videos using your default camera app.  
   For the most part, this is a standard permission for some obvious apps (think messaging apps or social media apps), but there might be some untrustworthy apps that request this permission that could use it without your knowing or to scan your surroundings or face(s). To be safe, only grant access to the apps you trust, and only when in use.  
   
   – Microphone: lets apps record audio. Again, for some apps, this permission is essential, especially if you’re a fan of leaving voice notes, or using your Google/Apple assistant. But, otherwise, it allows apps to listen to your conversations (ever wonder how you got an ad for something you were just telling your friend about?). You can limit individual apps’ access to your microphone to better protect your conversations.  
   
   – Files & Media/Photos: lets apps read, save, or upload files (such as photos or videos). If you don’t want apps having access to all your photos and videos, even the ones that need it, like Instagram, you can choose to only allow them access to “selected photos/files” instead.  

2. Turn off unnecessary tracking.  
   In the same vein as managing your app permissions, you can also disable other general settings for reduced location and ad personalization tracking:  
   - On an iPhone, head to your Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Tracking -> Turn off “Allows Apps to Request to Track”  
   - On Android, head to your Settings -> Google -> Ads -> Opt out of “Ads Personalization.”  
   Another tip is to disable “Bluetooth & Wi-Fi Scanning” when not in use.

2. Use app alternatives for better privacy

Other than settings, you can also switch to app alternatives that allow for better privacy/less tracking. Some of those include:  

• Mobile browser alternatives: Rather than Safari or Chrome, which are notorious for tracking, you can switch to Brave or Firefox for your browsers, and DuckDuckGo or Firefox Focus for your search engine (replacing Google Search).  

• Photos/storage app alternatives: If you’d like to keep your photos and videos more private/encrypted, you can also look into alternatives like Nextcloud (photos) or Cryptee.  

• Messaging app alternatives: You can keep certain conversations more private by using a texting (& calling) app that gives you a second phone number, or switching all conversations to an encrypted messaging app like Signal.  

3. Protect yourself from password data leaks

Data breaches and leaks are unfortunately almost inevitable in today’s day and age, but you can take precautions to keep your data safe and protected against hackers:  

1. Enable 2FA on sensitive accounts. For the accounts that you especially don’t want to be locked out of, such as your banking, email, or social media apps, enable 2FA (2-factor authentication). You can use your phone number, or even better, a dedicated authenticator app. Even if your password is leaked, no one would be able to gain access to the account(s) without that secondary authentication code, which only you would have access to.  

1. Use a password manager. You can use a tool like 1Password or LastPass to manage all your passwords, as it stores your passwords in an encrypted format that can’t be hacked.  

1. Change your passwords every few months. I know this is the more annoying step, but it does help! You can set yourself a reminder every 3 or 6 months to change your sensitive/important passwords (but make sure they differ from each other to count).  

Navigating the world online has certainly become a lot more complicated and nuanced over the past few years, from teaching your parents on how to avoid phishing scams, to teaching your kids about their own online safety. But as long as you stay vigilant and pay attention to the news – don't worry, we can do that part for you – you can continue enjoying all that the online has to offer, without worrying about what’s going on in the background.