Archives - Privacy


Consider substitutions to Google

Google is a unique resource, albeit one with some substantial drawbacks in terms of how comprehensively it catalogs your activities, from your search history to your geolocation. The privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo offers similar results with no tracking, reducing the risk of sensitive personal information falling into the wrong hands.

When purchasing a privacy screen filter, choose one with the most narrow viewing angle

Putting a privacy screen filter on your laptop or mobile device can prevent others from seeing your screen outside of a narrow viewing angle, preventing “visual hacking.” There are several privacy screen filters on the market, but you want to make sure the one you purchase has a narrow enough viewing angle that will be […]

Ask these questions when someone asks for your social security number

Any organization that isn’t your employer, the IRS or your bank probably doesn’t need to know your social security number. However, sometimes other organizations will ask for it. They may need it or they might not, and you should ask questions before agreeing to give it to them. These questions, as recommended by the Federal […]

Watch out for free software

Have you ever heard the adage that if you aren’t the customer, you’re the product, well maybe in the setting of a free-to-use platform like Facebook. There may be some truth to this saying. Whether it’s a desktop or mobile app that serves you aggressive ads, or a site that exploits your compute cycles for […]

Know what your credit monitoring service will alert you about

Using a credit monitoring service is a good way to make sure your credit is always intact. If there is suspicious activity in your line of credit, the service provider will alert you. However, according to the Federal Trade Commission, they will not alert you if: A person other than you makes a withdrawal from […]

Download your data on TikTok

TikTok, like most other account-based services, gathers relevant data about your activity for research purposes. It’s always a good idea to see what kinds of information your service providers are collecting. You can get an overview of your data compilation by downloading a full report. Just go to your privacy settings and select “download your […]