How to Prevent Online Companies from Collecting Your Data?

Every time you use the internet, whether you are just browsing websites for information on a topic, you are doing some online shopping, or you are posting your thoughts and opinions on social media, you are leaving behind a trail of information about yourself that companies can then collect and use to market to you.

Data brokers that collect information might know more than you think about your buying habits and preferences, your hobbies, and even your health and finances. It’s kind of scary! But the good news is there are some steps you can take to at least limit the amount of data that can be gathered about you online. Keep reading to access a list of tips to get started.

Browse Smarter

One of the strategies you can use to limit or stop companies from being able to collect data about you online is pretty simple: start using different browsers to perform different tasks.

For instance, you can use one browser specifically for social media, and then stick with another browser to do your online shopping. If this is not possible, however, you can also try logging out of all of your social media accounts when you are not using them so they can’t track what you do as easily.

Remove Your Info from People Search Sites

Another way to control the amount of data that companies can collect about you is by removing your personal information from the internet as much as possible. There might be some public records resources that you can’t do anything about, but if there are websites that are displaying personal information about you, such as your contact details, it’s best to get in touch with them and request that they take down that info.

A good place to start is people search websites because these make it easy to find contact information and perform background checks. Head to Nuwber to see what we mean. Thankfully, you can just opt out of these websites by requesting the removal of any listings about you.

Check the Privacy Settings on Your Apps and Devices

Check all your apps’ settings, as well as the settings on your computers and mobile devices, to see if there are privacy options that will limit the amount of information that can be collected about you and shared about you.

For instance, if you have the option of turning off location tracking, definitely use that setting to better protect your data, no matter where you are when you are using the device.

Set Your Social Media Profiles to Private

Although social media platforms may be able to collect data on your activity when you are interacting with friends, posting status updates, and following your favorite celebs and businesses, there might be settings that will help reduce the amount of data that they can collect.

Also, making your profile private, and preventing it from showing up in search engine results when people look for you, can also be helpful because it will limit who can actually view your profile.

Overall, there are various steps, such as those listed above, that you can take when you want to stop companies from collecting so much data about you online. So, if you care about your privacy and keeping your data secure, definitely consider taking these steps.

Last Updated: October 13, 2021