It’s a New Year: Here Are Six Digital Privacy Resolutions to Keep

This January, as you consider a gym membership or taking up a new instrument, you also have the opportunity to commit to something else: a more private and secure digital life. Here are six easy steps you and your loved ones can take to help safeguard your digital life this coming year.    

Check your mobile privacy settings

A great place to start with digital privacy is on your smartphone. If you use an iPhone, you can learn about–and control–what information your apps can access on the “Privacy” page in settings. You can then opt out of Apple’s interest-based and location-based ads, and turn on the passcode feature to take advantage of Apple’s encryption-by-default feature, which limits the ability of bad actors and governments to pull your personal information off of a locked phone.

If you’re an Android user, you can use Android’s security settings to set up a device passcode and encrypt the data on your device. If you’re using the latest version of Android (6.0 or higher), you can also use Android’s app permissions to decide which of your apps gets access to sensitive information like your location history or SMS messages. And when you’re not using location-based services, you can turn off location entirely.

Use a password manager

You know that one password you use for most of your accounts? Even if you vary it a little bit here and there, it’s probably not that strong. Using similar passwords across services means if a bad actor figures out one password, they’re close to figuring out the rest.

That’s why distinct, complex passwords are essential to protect your digital world. A password manager helps you generate strong passwords and stores them in a secure place and in a secure manner, often behind a “master password” you create. Make sure your master password is very strong and that your password manager’s server does not have access to copies of your passwords in unencrypted form. While it would be much better if password managers existed that were “open-source” with computer source code subject to inspection by security experts, of the closed-source options two popular password managers include LastPass and KeePass.

Turn on multi-factor for more robust security

Multi-factor authentication, which typically works by requiring you to enter a code sent to your phone or email in addition to your regular password, helps ensure that only you can log into your account even if others learn your password. Sites like Facebook, Gmail, and Twitter make multi-factor authentication easy, and more banking sites (such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo) are enabling versions of the feature, too.

With multi-factor enabled, sites that detect a new device trying to log in to your account will automatically require an additional code that only you possess, making it harder for someone to sneak their way into your data. Of course, strong phone security is still really important since multi-factor usually involves use of a code located on the phone itself.

Adjust social media privacy settings

These days, so much of our personal information lives on social media services. A periodic revisit to your social media privacy settings can help prevent everything from surveillance by local police to being tagged in an embarrassing picture that all your friends then see in their feeds.

If you want to adjust your Facebook settings, check out the Privacy Basics guide where you can control who can see your posts, who can tag you in photos, and the factors used to show you ads.

On Instagram, you can take control of who can see your posts and who can follow you by choosing “Private Account” under the “Options” folder.

And finally, you can adjust your Twitter settings (screenshot here) to limit how you are tagged, delete your geolocation history, turn off targeted advertising, and control who can see your account.

Enable browser privacy options

Protecting your stored data and accounts is essential to a safe and secure digital life, but it’s also important to protect yourself as you browse the web. 

Hate web-based advertisements and how they keep trying to sell you the item you already bought on another site? Much of this is the result of third party cookies that identify your computer across the web to advertisers. You can block these cookies in your web browsers’ settings. Here’s how to block cookies in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. Turning off cookies does not stop you from seeing all ads, but it does prevent a common tactic used to track your online habits.

While you’re at it, activate your Do Not Track (DNT) setting in Chrome, Firefox, or Safari so your browser automatically tells websites to limit how they track you for ads and other purposes. Sites like Twitter, Pinterest, and reddit say they will honor your Do Not Track preference.

Love that warm fuzzy feeling you get when that padlock icon shows you that your communications are encrypted and off limits to others? Using a simple browser add-on called HTTPS Everywhere, you can automatically enable encryption on other sites where it’s available but not turned on by default. This will help protect you from bad actors who spy on public Wi-Fi and make it more difficult for governments to conduct surveillance of your web traffic.

Digital privacy and online abuse

Abusers may seek to hack your personal accounts and even release personal information that can put you at risk. This harassment can also discourage your speech and participation in important discussions online.

Often, the targets of online abuse are women, people of color, transgender people, and genderqueer folks. That’s why feminist advocates Renee Bracey Sherman, Jaclyn Friedman, and Anita Sarkeesian recently created a toolkit with tips and strategies for keeping safe online. Specifically, take a look at their advice on how to make foolproof security questions and ensure that data brokers don’t make personal information available to abusers.

Happy New Year!

Using technology should never come at the expense of your digital privacy and security. Making changes to your online accounts and practices is a start, but it’s only a small piece of the bigger picture. You can also remind local and federal policymakers to get behind legislation that brings our privacy laws out of the digital dark ages. And you can give your business to companies that make privacy and security the default rather than something you have to choose in your settings. At the end of the day, it’s about making sure you are in control of your data and digital life.

Matt Cagle is a Technology & Civil Liberties Policy Attorney with the ACLU of Northern California.