I ran across an article a week ago entitled, What Does DOGE Know About You?. It includes a quiz; it’s interesting to check it out. If you answer a few broad questions, it will tell you what DOGE is likely to know about you. The article reminded me of a TED Talk I saw in Edinburgh in 2012 about how your phone company is watching from Malte Spitz. He sued his phone company to get the data they had on him and his interactions based on cell phone use. He created visual tools to help the audience understand not only how much data this was, but what it meant when you tracked interactions among users in aggregate in terms of what was happening in a community.

In 2022, PC Mag published an article on how much data social media and tech companies gather on users. (They used research from Security Baron, a privacy company, which I think is worth mentioning. You always want to know who paid for and wrote the report.) I like the article for our purposes now because the results are shared in an easy graphic. (At right.) As you read through the explanations, you get a feel for what these companies know. (Click to get a larger version of the image.)

What is a Digital Footprint?

All these interactions, purchases, clicks, pings from your phone to the cell tower, are things that make up your digital footprint. I think it’s important to recognize that you leave a footprint wherever you go. Important to share with your young people around you. And just like footprints in real life, they are helpful and hurtful. Footprints can help you find your way back to the cabin on a snowy day, but it means people can use them to find you. Even being found is a double edge sword. The more you know about it, the more you can make your digital footprint a positive.

How can I manage my Digital Footprint?

The Internet Society is an international nonprofit focused on empowering people to keep the Internet a force for good. They have a Top 10 list for ways to manage your digital footprint, followed by a link to videos for more information.

1. Get a better understanding of the issues.
   There’s a lot of information about privacy to take in. Think about the implications of what you’re sharing when you sign up for new services, or install new apps.
2. Develop your ‘basic hygiene” habits.
   Privacy is about context. If you use one email address for home and another for work, or one credit card for online shopping and another for everything else – it will help keep different parts of your digital footprint separate.
   Be mindful about what you share via social sites and elsewhere, because every selfie, retweet, or like is probably more public, and more persistent than you think.
3. Become a sophisticated user of your online tools and services.
   Browsers, devices and apps are often set to share your personal data out of the box. Take a look at the privacy settings and see if you’re comfortable with what the default settings are.
   When an application asks for “permission to send you push notifications and use your location data”, think about if that’s really what you want. Your camera and smartphone usually record your time and location in each photo you take, and when you share those photos, you could be sharing that data.
4. Find and use specific online privacy tools.
   There are many helpful online privacy tools. Use them to protect your online privacy, and to keep track of what information you’re sharing as you surf.
5. Manage cookies.
   Check what settings your browser(s) have for cookies; find your browser’s “cookie store” and spend some time looking through it. Notice how many of the cookies in there have been set by sites you weren’t even aware of visiting… and then see whether your browser allows you to block third-party cookies. Some browsers offer this as an easy option, but there are also a lot of plug-ins you can use to help control tracking cookies.
6. Check your privacy settings
   Erasing cookies only goes so far. You should also know your rights when it comes to information that you share on websites, especially open services such as social networks, blogs, and photo sharing sites. It’s a lot easier to prevent your data from being shared than it is trying to remove it from an advertiser database later. Check what permissions apply to content you upload.
7. Understand the realities of sharing your stuff.
   When you post something on the internet, it’s out there forever. Deleting online content often only removes it from public view, it can be stored in archives and databases forever. Even deleting your account isn’t a guarantee that your content will be deleted. It may still be accessible through other means
8. Think about the trade-off between convenience and privacy.
   OK, one is instant gratification and the other is a long-term intangible… but the choice is still up to you. Maybe a little inconvenience is worth it, to regain some control over your digital footprint.
9. Understand the “bargain” you make with online service providers.
   “Free” doesn’t mean “free”: it usually means you pay through the monetization of data about you. “Freemium” doesn’t mean your data isn’t monetized: it usually means you don’t see advertisements in that service, app or game.
10. “There is no app for this”.
    That’s the bottom line. We can inform you and suggest some privacy tools, but the reality is that there’s no one-click answer: in the long term, the best way to improve your privacy is to change your online habits. We’re here to help, but you hold the key.

Want to know more? Watch our got tutorials on managing your digital footprint.