Before we talk about certain fitness apps, I would first like to describe data privacy and how you can protect it. Data is valuable to companies and organizations as it allows them to provide a more efficient and personalized user experience. With the data economy only increasing, lawmakers have attempted to help streamline the rights a person’s data has. This can be the right to be forgotten, which allows your data to be erased; the right to access, which allows you to view the specific data an organization has stored on you; or the right to opt in or out, which gives you control over whether or not your data should be shared. The following article, Protecting your Data Privacy, by Morgan Stanley, recommends the following tips to protect your data better.
· Limiting app permission: Pay attention to what apps you grant permission to access your precious data, such as your location and contact information. While an app like your map makes sense to know your location, not every app needs to know that. Most apps work just fine, even if you don’t grant them permission.
· Pay attention to your Social Media Accounts: Cybercriminals love to gather data you may offer them without thinking about your social media. Don’t just rely on the basic standard settings on your accounts; these apps typically offer stronger privacy controls in their settings.
· Disabling Cookies: Cookies can be useful in improving your online experience, but they may potentially lead to a privacy threat. To help protect your privacy, make sure to disable cookies that aren’t necessary or select ones that are acceptable to you.
· Disclose your PII (Personally Identifiable Information) carefully: Many apps may frequently request to view your PII. Try to keep your PII to yourselves and only reveal when it is absolutely necessary.
· Review the laws unique to your location: Depending on the country you live in, certain laws allow citizens to monitor how corporations can use the data they gather. In specific instances, US citizens, for example, can restrict the number of robocalls they receive from telemarketers by placing their phone numbers on a do-not-call registry.
· Make sure to review any privacy policies: There is no debating that no one enjoys reading the long and tedious privacy agreements that come packaged with products. Despite this it is important to recognize how organizations collect and use our personal data. Remember that if you aren’t comfortable with an organization’s privacy policy, then simply don’t agree to it.
Morgan Stanley. (2023, September 15). Protecting your Data Privacy. Morgan Stanely. https://www.morganstanley.com/articles/data-privacy/
Comments