Define who we are online

Online footprint is a record of what you do online, including the sites you visit and the things you share. The digital footprint also can identify who you are. 

What Information in Online Footprints?

• Shopping history

Every product you’ve searched for, clicked on, or purchased while shopping online is part of your online footprint. 

• Watch and listen to history 

YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify collect information about what you watch or listen to which helps them “suggest” other artists or videos you might like. 

• Social media activity log ( likes, comments, update…)

Every status update, like, and comment you post on social media sites like Twitter, TikTok is tracked. 

• Browsing history

Everything you’ve searched for or clicked on in a search engine (like Google), browsing history is also tracked and stored as part of your footprint. 

• Emails and messages through apps and social media

All of your inboxes or messages, subscriptions, spam, personal and business mail you receive is added. Your private messages also your online footprint. 

What information that you should not share online?

You shouldn’t share Information about you that can be used to identify who you are, such as:

• Name
• Date of birth 
• Home address 
• Age
• Phone number 
• School name

But you can share personal information such as: Favorite activities or hobbies.

The dangers of a big online footprint

• Your online reputation: Old posts, photos, and videos can end up damaging your reputation. 
• spam emails and phone calls: information can be shared publicly or sold to third parties, which you can get spam emails and phone calls.
• Criminals: with enough info, they can commit identity theft, bank scams, cyberbullying, or phishing.
• dangers to children: risk of child identity theft as more of their sensitive information is available.

To protect Your Digital Footprint you should:

1. Think twice about what you post: never share personal information online.
2. Adjust your privacy settings : limit who can see your posts on the social media sites you use
3. Avoid using public Wi-Fi : If you must use public Wi-Fi, consider a VPN to secure your connection and block malware and phishing attacks. 
4. Don’t use a single-account: Skip “sign in with Facebook” to prevent hackers to others account you’ve linked.
5. Delete old accounts and apps 

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Digital footprint 

Souce: HotBotVPN