No matter where you live or what you do for a living, you most likely use the internet every day.
Now, every bit of data you leave online stays online forever. On top of that, your network traffic can easily be monitored for all sorts of purposes. Considering that the internet is hard to moderate, your data is basically up for grabs for anyone, from hackers and advertisers to governments.
However, there are things you can do to protect yourself because online privacy is and should remain a basic human right.
What is internet surveillance?
Any sort of data monitoring can be called internet surveillance. However, when we say internet surveillance, we mainly refer to the act of it being done en masse. These huge data chunks are used mainly for profit through targeted advertising, which is just the tip of the iceberg.
But that’s not the end of it. Using today’s tech, with enough user info, data holders can predict customer behavior and online habits. Now, in the early days of the internet, this wasn’t that big of an issue – people weren’t online enough to achieve a critical data mass. However, today we do most of our daily stuff online, so creating a customer avatar isn’t that hard anymore.
Lastly, if a government decides to do so, your entire internet activity can be tracked. Internet service providers in a lot of countries work with the government on internet surveillance. This has its merits because a lot of criminal activities get prevented. On the other hand, it means that the government has a way to track your activity.
How to boost your online privacy?
Internet surveillance does sound scary. However, there are things you can do and apps you can use to protect your internet activity from being tracked. Most of these solutions work great together and require little to no tech-savviness.
1. Don’t overshare
The very first thing you should do is change your behavior online. We all tend to overshare without even knowing it. So, here’s where to start:
- When filling out online forms, leave optional info empty if you can. Your online pet store doesn’t need your SSN.
- Stop accepting cookies from websites you visit. Also, set up an auto-delete routine for the cookies in your browser.
- Stop giving out your email and phone number freely. Most of the time, these will be used for advertising and spam.
- Don’t transfer or use sensitive info (e.g., e-banking) while using public WiFi.
- Review the app permissions on your phone and cut off access to invasive apps asap.
2. Switch to end-to-end encryption
Encryption is a tech wonder that is slowly but surely reaching every online sector. Encryption is a tool that allows you to “lock” your data and access it only with a unique key. This concept became so popular because, at least for now, it’s the safest widely-available option for data transfer and storage.
There are messaging apps out there that employ end-to-end encryption, making it virtually impossible for anyone to listen in on your conversation. Switch to this type of messaging if you don’t want anyone to eavesdrop.
3. Use a VPN
Another great example of encryption is a virtual private network (VPN). An encryption system such as this allows you to browse the internet while masking your trails through another server.
So, between you and the site you want to visit, there will be an extra layer of protection and masking. Thanks to VPNs, you can access geo-blocked content, all while hiding your location and device info.
4. TOR for the extra careful
The Onion Router (TOR) is a special browser that uses multi-layer server bouncing to protect your data and network details. This allows you to access virtually every website online, all without leaving a trail.
Combining TOR with a VPN can get you quite far when it comes to internet privacy. However, this combo can be a bit too much, both in terms of knowledge requirements and connection speed. Due to all the layers that the connection bounces against, TOR is bound to hinder your internet speed to a degree.
Your internet privacy matters!
Whether it’s the government, ad agencies, or large tech corporations – your internet activity is, and should remain, exclusively available only to you. Now, this is far from what is achievable today, but, as you can see, there are options for you to mask or hide your online activity.
The social implications of absolute internet surveillance (which is not impossible) are unimaginable.
So, take a stance today and invest in your internet privacy asap!