Also known as digital privacy, online privacy refers to the protection of your personal information (whether financial, personal, or simply your browsing information) whenever you are online. As the age of technology has boomed over the years, the protection of information has become a growing need. And this issue cuts across the board; from multinational companies to individuals working at home or simply browsing the internet. The gap that is cybersecurity is becoming wider every day, and certain companies have seen it as their mandate to fill in. Such a company is Ethyca.

The New York-based company has been at the forefront of data privacy and security. Due to the gap in regulation, Ethyca focuses more on the building of tools through code and design, helping users and businesses feel safer whenever they log in to the internet. The company recognizes the importance of online privacy, and so should you. To give you a better picture of how significant it is, continue reading.

Why is online privacy so important?    

1.      Search engines

Search engines, which also make the browser you are browsing on, (can and do) have your browsing history, regardless of whether you looking for the site. In addition, search engines also collect some additional information: IP Addresses, Click through history, search history among others. Such information can be used to “profile” people of a certain age group or profession and used to channel different goods or market preferences your way.

Your ‘profiled’ information can be used to influence you and the decisions you make in the future.

2.      Social media harvesting

Sounds familiar, right? We all remember the case of Cambridge Analytica a few years back. They were accused of gathering and sharing private information and further using that information to manipulate voters. Other major social media sites have been accused repeatedly of breaches of data, exposing the personal information of users to the world.

The onus of protecting social media data is the network’s, but this is also a warning to social media users. Don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want your parents or employer to see. The internet is forever. Hope you remember that.

3.      Use of mobile apps.

For the average person, your smartphone is your life. The apps that are installed control or perform various tasks that make our lives easier. They know every single inch of our lives; where we were last night, the food we ordered, and probably, the last deal you just signed and how much.

We typically permit these apps to use certain information on our phones, like our contacts and documents, and also give permission to use the phone’s camera and microphone. If such permission ‘fell’ into the wrong hands, you could have third party users knowing our every move. In simple terms, you have a stalker, a cyber stalker.

Be wary of the applications you install on your phone. Only download from trusted sites. And when in doubt, deny access or restrict the app’s settings.