So much of our sensitive personal data is being tracked and sold that trying to protect our privacy can seem like a futile exercise.
We may disable location tracking on phone apps only to find new apps chasing us next time we check. We can opt out of personalized advertising and still be bombarded by marketers who ignore our wishes. We can be fooled by language designed to protect companies’ access to data rather than our privacy.
All this surveillance allows advertisers to manipulate us into spending more. People who are struggling financially can be targeted by predatory lenders and other failing businesses. If there is a database breach, criminals can buy our information for just a few dollars and use it to impersonate or direct us for multiple hits.
As individuals, we have limited ability to stop snooping. Significant action must normally come from regulators and legislators. But we can take steps to recover small but significant pieces of privacy and send a signal to companies that we don’t like what they’re doing.
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“It’s a way of telling a company that you’re not agreeing with what they’re doing,” says independent journalist Bob Sullivan, consumer privacy advocate and author of “Gotcha Capitalism.”
Set limits on location tracking
You might think it’s your business how many times you visit a liquor store, hit the gym, or attend a church service. But many companies are in the business of collecting and using this data for marketing and other purposes. You can throw a wrench in this relentless location tracking by changing some settings on your devices.
On iPhones and iPads, go to “Settings” and then “Privacy” to find “Location Services”. With Android devices, go to “Settings” and then “Location” to find “App location permissions”. Don’t worry about “breaking” an app by reducing or eliminating its ability to track it, says Thomas Germain, technology and privacy writer at Consumer Reports. If you want to do something with the app that requires your location, the app will make it easy to activate again, says Germain.
Regularly check these settings on all your devices and delete any apps you are not using. The fewer apps you have, the fewer opportunities companies have to suck up and sell your data, Sullivan notes.
End other data collections
If you use any Google app or service, your location history can be stored and used even after you turn off tracking. Your searches and other activities are also being stored, so consider turning off Google’s ability to retain that data, says Germain.
For that, open Google.com in a browser, log in to your account and click the icon in the top right corner. Select “Manage Your Google Account” and then “Privacy & Personalization”. Under “Your data and privacy options”, choose “Things you’ve done and places you’ve been”. You’ll see options to review the information Google is storing about you, as well as ways to opt out of data storage and delete stored histories.
Some of Google’s apps might not work as well without this data, but you can always turn those functions back on, says Germain.
“I think it’s something people should try to unplug and see if the tradeoffs are worth it,” he says.
Another setting on this page that you can disable: ad personalization. Google tries to make personalized advertising sound like something you want or need; it probably isn’t.
Your devices have similar options. With iPhones and iPads, disable “allow apps to request tracking” in the “Tracking” part of the privacy settings. With Android devices, click on “delete advertising ID” under “Ads” in the “Advanced” part of the privacy settings. Turning off ad personalization won’t entirely stop advertisers from chasing you, but it should reduce the number of companies that have your data, says Germain.
If you own an iPhone or iPad, a feature in the iOS 15 operating software update called “App Privacy Reporting” can show you how you’re being profiled and tracked, suggests Emory Roane, policy advisor at Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
“Turn that on, let it run for a week or two, and then it will tell you a very detailed list of which apps are doing what,” says Roane. “It’s a great, great feature for iOS users.”
more steps to take
An easy way to reduce data mining is to switch to browsers built with privacy in mind, like Firefox or Brave, suggests Germain.
Also, try to slow down. Many websites and apps ask you to make privacy decisions quickly, making it easy to click in the wrong spot in the rush to get rid of the screen pop.
“All it takes is one incorrect answer and all of a sudden you’re granting all these permissions,” says Sullivan.
Check if you have other options, such as Online privacy protection service Discover is rolling out to debit and credit cardholders.
Finally, if you’re concerned about privacy, let your legislators know. Consumers are “woefully ill-equipped” to combat all the ways our data is being extracted and used, says Roane.
“The real ‘quick tip’ is that you need to call your rep and tell them to support stricter privacy laws,” he says.
This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by the Associated Press.
The article You can adjust your technical settings to protect your privacy originally appeared on NerdWallet.
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