How to protect your privacy in Google & Facebook
Cambridge Analykas stole personal information from there, without any permission, to create around 5 million Facebook user profiles. Then, during the presidential election, they were sending political advertisements by targeting users based on their psychological profile.
Facebook or Google is secretly storing many of your personal information, only after the scandal has been leaked, but it is not. Those who keep track of, they know that it has been going on for a long time.
Do you have any idea at all how much Facebook or Google knows about your life?
If you have any concerns about the confidentiality of your shared information online, then you can keep yourself safe with some simple steps. The BBC has made this easy guide by talking to Berlin-based technology company 'Tactical Tech';
- Fix Your Facebook Profile
Facebook gives you the option of downloading all the information. In the meantime, all the messages you have shared with you from your pictures, everything. If you want to get copies of these information, go to the General Account setting. Click on 'Download A Copy of Your Facebook Data'. Then all the data will be sent to your email address.
From the General Account setting, you can click on 'Apps' to see which apps are unnecessary. You can delete these unnecessary apps. Maybe, many years ago, Facebook had participated in a quiz test. That app may have saved a lot of information. Before you delete any such app, you can see how much this app knows about yourself. You will be surprised!
You can also un-tag yourself as many photos as you have been tagged.
Go through the profile page to see the activation log. See the photos and posts you have been tagged to scroll through. Delete your favorite pictures and posts.
Hey Google, how much do you know about me?
There is a likelihood that you use at least one Google a day or something. And Google knows you better than any other company in the world. Log in to your Google account. Click on your logo. Then go to the Privacy Checkup page and take control of all the information related to you. Go to Personalized User Google Experience at number three here. You can take control of Google with it yourself. In the future Google will log you into any information, you can fix the limit.
If you want to know what information Google has, then this link can go to: google.com/takeout
Map on a phone Photo copyright GETTY IMAGES
How much do you know about location data?
If you have a smartphone, then it is very likely that many of your information is going away to third party apps. Where do you live, where you go, all know them.
to know our location form your histroy:
• Android: Open Google Maps > menu > Your timeline. Select individual items for more detail.
• iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Location Services > scroll down and select System Services >scroll down and select Frequent/Significant Locations. Select individual items for more detail.
On your mobile/desktop browser, visit: https://www.google.com/maps/timeline?pb
If you do not want to allow third party apps to be monitored by you, you can change the settings where:
• Android: Settings> Apps> App permissions> Location
• iPhone: Settings> Privacy> Location Services> Manage location access on a per-app basis.
- Try using a private browser
After trying to buy something in a shopping site, surely you have noticed that the product that is going to see the product of the product?
Some third party companies are sending these to you targets. They get a lot of information from you behind the scenes. One bad news for you is that, the default setting of a browser is not private or confidential in the market, as you are searching for, going to a website and getting your IP address. All of them started from cookies to browsing history, web form entries and more information.
However, Google, Firefox and Safari have private or 'incognito' browsing mods. Your browsing history, cookies, temporal files and web entries will be automatically deleted in this mode.
Try it yourself:
Open your browser (Firefox, Chrome, Chromium or Safari) and go to Menu> New Private / Incognito Window.
To set Private Browsing permanently in Firefox or Safari, go to:
Firefox: menu > Preferences > Privacy > History: Firefox will: select Use custom settings for history > check Always use private browsing mode.
Safari: Safari in the top bar > Preferences > General > Safari opens with: select A new private window.
- Ask yourself: Do I really need so many apps?
Do you know how many apps are there on your phone? Guess what? Then count yourself. Thinking more than that? Which one is to delete which is really hard to decide. But the answers to the questions below will help you:
Is this really what you need?
When did you end up using it?
What does this app collect data?
Who is this app?
Do you believe them?
Do you know about their private privacy policy?
In exchange for these information, how do you benefit yourself?
Now maybe you can decide which apps can be deleted.
Formula-BBC Bangla