The Never-Ending Breach Emails
Delete, delete, delete… oh… another data breach. DoorDash, again? It just doesn’t stop. That was my train of thought as I carried out my daily ritual of cleaning my email. I happened upon one about a DoorDash breach for an undisclosed number of customers, Dashers, and merchants that happened back in October of this year. I see these data-breach emails way more frequently than I care to, and it frustrates me a lot.
“I Have Nothing to Hide”
What frustrates me more are the good people I talk to that do not seem super concerned about these matters. They say things like, “There is no such thing as privacy these days, so what does it matter?” or “I’m not a criminal, so what do I have to hide?” Well, I’m not a criminal either, but I feel pretty strongly about my privacy—especially when it applies to my digital privacy. There are so many apps and internet-connected services these days that have no problem giving you their service for free in exchange for the data you provide to them by using their product.
You Are the Product (Even When You Pay)
You may have heard the saying, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” This is only half the truth, even paid services collect data about you. Have you ever read the privacy statements of some of these services like Meta, Google, etc.?
They track most of what you put through their products and then many times sell this information off. These services are making money off of you, at your expense, all so you can use their service for free. But you do not get to choose what information they can collect, send, and sell in most cases. I would much rather have control over what people know about me than someone else have that control.
One Re-Used Password Can Ruin Everything
Let’s not forget about hackers. They can wreak havoc on your life with one re-used password exposed. Identity theft is huge these days, and it all begins with people taking data privacy and security for granted. Once these hackers have the right data about you, they can open up credit cards in your name, hijack your online accounts, and much more.
Simple Steps That Actually Work
So, if you’re like me and want to maintain some control over your digital data, what can you do? You can be extreme by not using services at all that collect data about you or buy devices designed to block certain data from being collected. However, there are some simple things you can do to protect yourself that don’t require extra cash or much effort on your part.
- For laptops and desktops, make sure your system is up to date and use good antivirus and antimalware software.
- For mobile devices, remove unused apps from your device periodically when you are done with them. Delete them completely!
- Check the settings for each app you have and make sure you are only sharing information that you wish to share. Think limiting the photos you share to only selected ones.
- Feel free to turn your device’s Wi-Fi and cellular data off when you’re not using the internet so your phone will only make and receive calls. Most of the apps require an internet connection to collect data. Or, you can always turn your device off.
These will not solve all the data-collection issues, but they will help. More importantly, they will get you in the frame of mind to be aware that data collection happens, data breaches happen, and protecting our data is important.
If everything we have ultimately belongs to God (Psalm 24:1), that includes the digital trail we leave—let’s not hand it over carelessly.
—Daniel