7 Top Tips for Privacy Protection for Digital Nomads

How to protect your digital privacy as a digital nomad

As a digital nomad, you have the freedom to work from anywhere. Ensuring you can do that safely is vital, not only for your own privacy protection but for your clients or employer. If you're accessing sensitive customer data or confidential company documents, you need to take steps to reduce the risk of that data being exposed or your accounts being hacked.

Here's what to do...

#1 Avoid public WiFi

We know that this is almost impossible to do as a digital nomad, but it really is one of the best ways to ensure privacy protection as a digital nomad. Sure, open, free public WiFi can be a godsend when you've got a pressing deadline but don't be tempted. What looks like convenience could harbor hidden dangers much worse than a missed deadline.

Cybercriminals often use public WiFi to launch malware or Man-in-the-Middle attacks. They may even set up an “Evil Twin” WiFi hotspot that mimics a legit connection in order to trick unsuspecting internet users and digital nomads.

The risk is that they steal your account login credentials, and install malicious software, or spyware. And the worst thing is, you won't know about it until it's too late. Wait until you can connect to a password-protected WiFi or invest in your own mobile WiFi router for those deadline days.

#2 Use a privacy filter on your screen

Working on the go can be a daily occurrence for a digital nomad but it can put you at risk of “visual hacking”. Visual hacking is easy to do, it's quick and can go by completely unnoticed. Using a privacy filter can protect you from the prying eyes of the nosy parker sitting next to you on the plane or in a cozy cafe.

A privacy filter is a removable display that can be attached to your laptop screen. Once in place, the screen is only visible from a straight-on angle, meaning anyone at the side of you won't be able to take a sneaky peek.

#3 Use encrypted cloud backup services

As a digital nomad, you may be working in places where the internet connection is a bit sketchy or the electricity is unreliable. To ensure you don't lose your work, it's a good idea to back up your data regularly.

Taking a physical external hard drive with you isn't always the most practical solution. They can easily get lost or stolen while on your travels and it's just another thing to carry. Cloud backup services are a much more reliable and travel-friendly means of data privacy protection for digital nomads.

When looking for a cloud backup service, find one that uses a zero-knowledge framework and offers end-to-end encryption. You can back up all your data, retain control over the file's encryption keys, and keep hackers from your private data.

#4 Use a password manager

The average internet user has around 100 online accounts. The average digital nomad is likely to have more than that. Relying on memory for so many login credentials is impossible for most of us mortals. Writing them down or having them all on another device, such as your smartphone isn't ideal.

Lose that piece of paper or misplace your phone, and you say goodbye to all of your personal and professional data.

Using a password manager is a much more sensible idea. Password managers are like encrypted vaults where you store all of your passwords in one place. The only password you have to remember is the master password for the “vault” and it works by auto-filling your login credentials for each account. You don't have to rely on your own memory or risk accidentally giving away the keys to your online kingdom.

#5 Invest in good antivirus software

Antivirus software is designed to protect you from malicious software that would threaten your data privacy. Ransomware, adware, trojan horses, and spyware such as keyloggers are just some of the cyber threats that antivirus software can help you avoid.

See it as a business investment and don't rely on free antivirus programs. The freebies offer only very basic protection and cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated every day.

As a digital nomad, your entire life is pretty much on your device and you need it to make a living online. Do you really want to entrust that to a piece of free software?

Most antivirus software providers do bundle deals that include firewalls or network monitoring that will give you additional layers of protection. Whatever you choose, make sure that you keep the software updated to receive any security patches and keep your protection up to date.

#6 Use a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) hides your IP address and encrypts your data traffic, transferring your requests through a server located in a different country. Using a VPN to connect to the internet makes it more difficult for any prying eyes to see your online activity.

But there are many countries where governments have banned or severely restricted the use of VPNs. If you're visiting one of these places and get caught using a VPN, you could get into serious trouble.

VPNs also come with a number of other downsides, such as slower speeds, and only being able to connect to one different location for an entire online session. And despite what they may tell you, they do keep user logs and you can still be tracked by VPNs. So, they aren't quite the mighty privacy tool they profess to be.

Luckily there is something better for the privacy-respecting digital nomad...

#7 Bonus tip: Use Hoody

First of all, Hoody app works in a very similar way to VPNs. You connect to the internet via a server located in another country. BUT, Hoody won't slow down your connection speed. In fact, connecting with Hoody actually improves browsing and download speed thanks to its random browsing technology.

With Hoody Smart Routing™, the app also lets you spoof your location per website.

This means you can have multiple tabs opened and each one spoofing a different location. Or you can even turn spoofing off for a certain website or tab. You don't need to disconnect and reselect a new VPN server while you work.

But, the most important thing is that it gives these benefits without collecting ANY user data. Hoody doesn't collect anything because they are designed not to. The app uses diskless servers which means it can't collect and store data even if it wanted to. So, for any digital nomad concerned about privacy, Hoody is the better option.

If you want to know more about the limitations of VPNs, then check out our article: Does A VPN Protect You From Hackers?