Archives - Privacy


How to safely manage your voice-controlled gadgets

Devices with voice recognition became much more common throughout the 2010s. The addition of Siri to the iPhone 4S in 2011 spurred major competition among tech vendors looking to put voice-powered assistants at the center of how end users interact with their phones, tablets, speakers and smart TVs. Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, among others, […]

Prune revealing content from your social media accounts

It’s prudent to review your social media accounts every now and then to see if you’ve left any photos, videos, or textual updates on them that might reveal sensitive details about your identity or location. Delete such posts or at least hide them from public viewing to minimize exposure.

Curb online tracking in your browser

Most websites collect a lot of information on a visitor, which is then used to track them across the web and target ads. If you’re uncomfortable with that, consider setting up an ad blocker or installing specialized extensions that limit what any site can see about your device and activity.

Turn off auto-listening on a smart speaker if you’re not currently using it

Smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home listen for certain keywords that wake them up and prompt them to answer questions. You can turn this listening behavior off by pressing a button on the speaker itself. Doing so might be advisable if you’re concerned about privacy.

Avoid wrong password entry and lockouts by toggling password visibility

Most of the time, when you enter a password it shows up as a bunch of dots to obscure what’s actually being typed. Unfortunately, this setup makes it hard to know if you’re actually entering the right characters. Assuming no one is looking over your shoulder, consider toggling the visibility setting – it usually looks […]

Treat everything as public information

A good way to protect yourself is to limit the amount of personal information you post to social networks. This recommendation applies not only to information in your user profile, but also to any comments or photos you post. It is important that you consider information that you post about yourself and about others, particularly […]