Privacy on social media is something everyone talks about; few understand and are rarely provided. We wish to be an exception by giving our users what we claim. Social media accounts could become powerful tools in the wrong hands. Of late, the privacy of users’ data, and the breach of sensitive information on the internet have become a sensitive issue and a highly debated topic. One of the incidents that shook the digital world was the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018.
Social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Twitter have become the internet user’s digital stage where they share their pictures, views, and almost everything that’s happening in their lives. We have studied these privacy concerns, and have identified ways to protect your privacy on social media in this article. The information given in this article can help you take appropriate measures to protect your social media privacy.
Choose a strong and secure password
Don’t try to make it too obvious while selecting a password like your birthday, your sibling’s name, your place of work, etc. Try to have a different password in each of your social media accounts.
Try to Understand the Privacy Terms
It is very important that before joining and registering your account on a new platform, you must read and understand their privacy terms. While signing up for an account, pay special attention to the privacy terms of the information you are registering and agreeing to share.
Familiarization with Features
It is important to become familiar with the functionality of a social media site before you begin broadcasting or sharing your messages. Things such as who will see your messages, and whether all users on the platform will be the recipients or the chosen ones are important points. Most importantly, try to understand the privacy settings and the vulnerable areas of a social media site.
Personal Information
It is mandatory to provide personal details and information like your name, date of birth, age, or mailing address while registering an account with a social media platform. Try to be as discreet as possible to limit what other social media users may know about you. If such information falls into wrong hands, it might compromise your digital security.
Profile Information
Try to be extra careful with the personal detail you provide on your social media profile. Restrain yourself by providing sensitive information like the nearest institutions, political orientation, bank account details, past or current employment, mobile numbers, or general interests, among others. You may think what’s so important about giving this routine information, but someone can always use them to scam you or flood you with unnecessary ads.
Accepting Friend or following requests
Remember, you are under no obligation to accept a random friend or follow request from anyone on social media, especially from those you do not know. There is no need to be in haste while accepting friends or following friends or contacts on a site. Make an effort to know more about a person before accepting any friend or following a request.
There is more than one way to know about a person and understand from their timeline who they are, what they do, and what kind of content they share.
Don’t Reveal Your Location
Go to your privacy settings, and turn off your device’s location sharing. This will help you in avoiding getting reviews to places and businesses you frequently visit.
Don’t Click On Unverified Links
Avoid clicking on the unknown and unverified links that may pop up on your page as no social media takes responsibility for third-party apps. Don’t fall prey to scams like ‘comment below to see magic’ or ‘check which celebrity you share a birthday with,’ or “click and get a chance to win the jackpot.”
These are mostly third-party apps that target you to capture and misuse your private information.
Watch your mailbox
Let’s try to understand how social media hacking takes place. More often than not, it happens through direct messaging. So, a probable hacker is likely to attach a rogue link along with his mail disguised as mail from a colleague or a friend that exposes all your vital information. Such online stalkers are clever enough to find out from where you are expecting a mail and would often use that as a link to reach.
Avoid unusual proximity
Scammers use social engineering as a tool to attack users and glean as much information as possible from your public profiles – like date of birth, education, employment, hobbies – to try to get into your accounts. You cannot think how easy this is for someone to find out details of your first car, the name of your first pet, or school from your Facebook profile.
Think before you reply to the security questions and keep as much of your profile private as you can. It’s not necessary to post and share absolutely every aspect of your life on social media because there is nothing like a secured Indian social media app.
Keep a Lock on your phone
Internet is not the only place where your privacy or security is at risk. You might lose your phone or it may get stolen, and in such situations, your phone may end up in the wrong hands, giving access to your social media accounts. If that happens, someone may obtain your email ID, target your friends using your profile as bait, and even change your password.
Hence, to avoid such consequences, you should always enable the PIN or a pattern lock on your phone, and also set it to time out at no more than a few minutes.
Privacy and security of users’ data on a secured Indian social media platform are enormously protected by tools of the highest quality. They often go the extra mile to ensure users’ privacy and to keep them safe.