Have you ever thought about your information getting traced all the time through the Internet? It might be a little alarming for you, but soon as you tap on different links on the Internet, it maps you out. The Internet is powerful enough to access your personal data through the websites you visit or search daily. You may not recognize checking different websites daily, but these can get your details. So, to avoid sharing your identity and other essential details, it would be better if you keep a check of what you are exchanging online.
A digital footprint can be all those traces you work around while surfing the Internet. It is anything, from checking a certain website to uploading your photos. Sometimes, interacting on a public platform with other people also falls under digital footprints, having the ability to save and retrieve the data.
One can classify it under active and passive footprints.
Active Footprints: The computerized contents trailed by your active accounts, such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., are said to be active footprints.
Passive Footprints: The electronic footprints blotted out without any intention are the passive footprints. For instance, if you walk into a website and install its cookies, it’s able to get your details through your smartphones, active devices, or geolocation.
It’s so important to understand your electronic footprints and how it works. Often the third parties or external cookies can approach whatever information you are sharing online. Even if you try searching your name on Google, a list of your data will appear – be it your social media profile, any published article with your name, or posts you have updated online. Know that anyone at any time can check these details, including your family, your friends, or maybe your colleagues.
Understanding your digital footprint will help you take the necessary measures with precautions. Now that you know, even the search history from your active devices is used by third parties to take out your IP addresses and other details. Some worst cases of misusing digital footprints are seen, where the personal accounts get hacked or the business entities lose their official data, sold afterward.
As with the drawbacks comes benefits, so the same goes with a digital footprint. It is nothing other than a self-portrait, most often utilized by several software development companies, defining your integrity and whatever you look for on the Internet. Just make sure to avoid following inappropriate content and keep your digital footprint positive. Some third parties get your details for commercial purposes, which is not wrong to some extent. It can produce a good image with your personal information. Moreover, tracking your digital footprint can let the offices, universities, or other groups know about you! Not just this, it’s easy to detect frauds happening online with the help of digital footprints.
You can prevent yourself from being trailed if your information is not much spread around. One of the prevailing methods is to utilize a trustworty VPN to run on your Internet. It is nothing but a virtual private network that works as a bridge to interlink different devices. A VPN allows you to acquire access to different websites without your information being leaked. This encrypted technology doesn’t only work for personal computers but also smartphones. With a VPN your IP address and locaiton is hidden, your Internet Service Provider can not track your online activity and sell your browsing history and habits to third-parties.
You can still enjoy your Internet connection and not worry about the leaking of your primary data. Make sure to delete all the cookies’ records and search history from your device. You can also protect your digital footprint by always using the top-most version of your browser, VPN and anrivirus. Everything comes with its goods and worsts. Now it’s up to your potential to utilize it efficiently.
