10 Ways To Protect Your Privacy Online

Definition of online privacy

The definition of online privacy is the level of privacy a person and their personal data have while connected to the Internet. Online privacy may also be called Internet privacy. The definition of online privacy extends to the amount of control an individual has over their data online and how it is collected, stored, or shared.

Why is online privacy protection important?

We all have things to hide. And by that, we don't mean a body in the boot or some shady criminal past. Maybe you do – but that's none of our business! Generally speaking, we all have certain information that we don't want to share. Like how much money we have saved, or our bank account number, social security number, medical history, or account passwords.

Without ample online privacy protection, these details can very easily end up in the wrong hands. When that happens, it can result in massive financial loss, identity theft, or worse...

The definition of online privacy also means having the ability to protect your physical location, or information about one's sexual orientation, gender, religious, and political views. In some circumstances, were these details to be revealed, they could pose a very real threat to a person's safety.

So, why is online privacy important? Because privacy is a fundamental human right, and online privacy is simply an extension of that.

With so much of our daily lives now taking place online, our privacy is under threat like never before. Advertisers, data brokers, government agencies, and cybercriminals are all after your personal data.

By following these ten simple steps, you can fight back, learn how to protect privacy online, and keep your personal data safe.

#1 Use a privacy search engine

Although Google may have become so popular that it has become a verb, (how many times have you told someone to “Google it”?) it is not the only search engine available. Out of all the big tech companies, Alphabet, Google's parent company, collects the most data on its users. This includes your IP address and all your search terms.

Sure, you could spend the time to block Google from tracking you, or you could just not use it and cut them off at the source. But, there is no guarantee that Google will actually pay attention to your anti-tracking wishes. In fact, Google is constantly facing fines for tracking users without asking for explicit consent or even when they have opted out. Online privacy protection means thinking beyond the Terms of Service.

There are privacy search engines that don't require you to quietly sell your soul. They operate, less with advertising in mind, but with user privacy at the forefront.

DuckDuckGo is a search engine alternative popular with the privacy-minded. It does still use your IP address but only to return local results and the information isn't stored. Neither are the results personalized or users profiled according to their search patterns.

#2 Switch to a privacy-focused browser

Again, most people default to using Chrome but it doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to privacy protection. Owned by Google, Chrome is just another part of the data-collecting machine. You can't trust a browser with your privacy when one of its main revenue sources is user profiling for ad targeting.

Again, there are other options. Look for a browser that doesn't sell your online activity to third parties, or expose you to annoying ads, or any other malicious pop-ups.

Brave, Firefox, or Tor are good privacy-focused options each with strong tracking protection and customizable privacy settings. Whatever browser you decide to use, you can check out how well it performs by visiting Cover Your Tracks. The project run by the Electronic Frontier Foundation lets you test how well your browser protects you against web tracking and fingerprinting.

#3 Adopt a messaging app with end-to-end encryption

Thanks to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology staying in touch has never been easier. If you're not sure what VoIP is, it's basically any communication app that allows instant messaging either with text, voice, or video calls via an IP network.

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal, and Telegram are all examples. But not all messaging apps are made equally. If you want your private conversations to stay just that, then choose a messaging app with end-to-end encryption (E2EE) as default.

E2EE means that only the intended recipient can read your sent messages, not even the service provider. To find out which E2EE chat app is the best visit: Compare the Best Encrypted Chat Apps.

If you want a case study to answer why is online privacy important check out what happens when it is undermined.

#4 Use a privacy-focused email service

Just as with instant messages, your email communications should also be privacy-protected. While Gmail is the email service provider of choice for many, with more than 1.5 billion active users, it's possibly one of the least private.

Gmail only uses standard encryption meaning emails aren't private. It also means they can (and do) scan your emails for purchase information, delivery tracking numbers, and flight bookings. Google claims not to use these private details for advertising purposes but recording them at all is bad enough.

Switch to an email service provider that uses advanced encryption methods. Proton (formerly ProtonMail), for example, uses PGP encryption (Pretty Good Privacy), it's also open source, doesn't track user IP, and has a self-destructing emails feature.

Or check out our post for the best Gmail alternatives.

#5 Beware of phishing

No list of ways to improve online privacy protection would be complete without mentioning the dark art of phishing. Phishing is a cyberattack that usually presents itself in the form of an email but can also happen via SMS or a phone call.

These attacks aim to manipulate the web user and trick them into handing over private or sensitive information. The best protection from phishing attacks is to be familiar with the most common phishing techniques. The more you know, the better prepared you are to protect your online privacy.

Phishing emails may appear to be from someone you know or a company you already have an account with. But there are often tale-tell signs of their bogus origins, such as spelling or grammar mistakes, or a weird use of capital letters. Check the email address, and don't click any links within the message.

#6 Use strong passwords

We can't believe that this one still needs to be said, but apparently, it does. Out of 56 million breached and leaked passwords in 2022, “123456” made up a total of 111, 417 cases.

Type “123456” into Password Monster (an app to check password strength) and you'll see that it would take hackers ZERO seconds to crack. Literally, no time at all! In comparison, a password like “Lp7@gdu6%>hpf” would take roughly 5 billion years. Which one do you want to use to secure your life savings?

A strong password contains at least 12 characters and is a random mix of lower and upper case letters, symbols, and numbers. It's best not to contain any dictionary words and absolutely no personal data. Do not use your name, date of birth, pet's name, or favorite color.

#7 Don't reuse passwords

You might be tempted to reuse a great, hard-to-crack password across multiple sites, apps, and online accounts. But don't. Your online privacy depends on it. Say your password is leaked in a company data breach, that account won't be the only one at risk. You'll be opening the door wide open across all accounts you've used that password for.

#8 Use a password manager

So now you might be thinking, “But I have hundreds of online accounts. I'll never remember random passwords for all of them”. Well, that's a very fair point and this is precisely why you need a password manager. They take on the responsibility of having to remember every single password for all of your online accounts so you don't have to.

Some of the best password managers will also have extra features like a password generator, so you don't even have to come up with the passwords yourself. As long as you remember the master password, the one for the password manager, then you're in business.

#9 Implement multi-factor authentication

Another way to secure your online accounts and improve your online privacy protection is to add multi-factor authentication. Standard accounts are protected by a username and password, but with MFA, you add the requirement of another method of identity verification to access the account.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is comprised of three things:

• Something you know, like a password.
• Something you have, such as a smartphone (to receive a one-time passcode).
• And something you are, a biometric like a fingerprint or facial recognition.

Some people complain that MFA slows down access to an account. But compare a few extra seconds to the 6 months that it can take to recover from identity fraud, it's definitely worth it.

#10 Don't overshare on social media

Be careful what you put out there on social media. Although you can adjust the privacy settings on your fav social media platform to limit who sees what, it pays to limit what you share in the first place.

Steer clear of these seemingly innocent group posts that ask users to share details such as their favorite color or their first pet's name. These are popular phishing techniques used for social engineering attacks.

If you're doing batch uploads of photos, make sure you're not accidentally uploading personal information or files in the process.

Read more: 6 Things You Should Never Share on Social Media

Bonus tip: Download Hoody

Combine these ten tips with a privacy app, like Hoody and you can drastically improve your online privacy. Hoody is designed with online privacy at its very core.

Hoody is an anti-fingerprinting app that spoofs your digital fingerprints on every single tab and every browser. It's a next-gen dedicated privacy app that uses state-of-the-art protocols and encryption to feed websites using tracking technology with data that isn't yours. This allows you to become completely anonymous and un-trackable online for the very first time.

But whatever privacy tool or app that you download make sure it has a strict no-logs policy, or even better, is privacy by design. For example, Hoody uses diskless servers meaning it can't store any information about users.

No one should ever know your online activity, ever.

Download Hoody and enjoy complete online privacy protection.