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The theme of this year’s Data Privacy Week was: Take Control of Your Data. At Gen, we want to motivate you to do just that. As every aspect of our lives increasingly moves into the digital realm, understanding data privacy is becoming an essential life skill for all of us. Despite being asked to ‘accept all cookies’ or ‘share location’ daily, many of us are unsure about exactly what these actions do. Once something is posted online, it can remain there indefinitely, and its impact may resurface in unexpected ways. Taking proactive steps now can prevent future regrets.

Push Your Understanding: What Does ‘Accepting all Cookies’ Really Mean? 

This action allows a site to track your browsing history, location and other personal data even across other websites. Companies can then use this information to create a profile for you and sell it to advertisers. While in most cases this data is used for legitimate purposes that don’t present any risk to you, in the worst-case scenario, this information could also end up in the hands of cybercriminals.

Going Deeper: Have you Heard of the Privacy Paradox? 

There is growing discussion around the Privacy Paradox – the discrepancy between our attitude about online privacy and our actual behavior. This manifests as you or I expressing significant privacy concerns but then taking little action to protect ourselves.

Several recent surveys indicate that the vast majority of respondents have significant concerns about their online privacy and security. However, these concerns often fail to translate into meaningful action. As an example, according to a 2023 report from Pew Research, only 49% of U.S. adults report stopping using a digital device, website or app over worries about how their personal information was being used and only 44% chose to use a browser or search engine that didn’t track activities.

Ultimately, we often prioritize convenience while underestimating the risks, especially when the consequences of privacy breaches feel abstract or distant. These risks, however, are tangible and can have real-world implications. For instance, the financial and emotional toll of a ransomware attack is comparable to that of a burglary. Just as we secure our homes, we should approach our digital safety with the same level of seriousness and diligence.

Take Action: Secure Your Data 

Data Privacy Week is a great time to take steps to secure your digital footprint. Here are two things you can do in just five minutes to take control of your data.

Review and update your privacy settings. Review your privacy settings on major platforms that you use often (for example, social media apps and browsers). Disable unnecessary permissions such as location tracking, microphone access, sharing full photo libraries or sharing personal information.Clear your cookies and cache. Regularly clearing your cookies and cache helps remove stored data that websites use to track behavior and reduces your digital footprint. Simply click on “Settings” in your browser and navigate over to privacy and security controls to make these changes.

At Gen Digital Inc., we’re dedicated to privacy protection and the Cyber Safety of our nearly 500 million users every day. Learn more about our dedication to privacy protection here. And for more tips on how to protect yourself online, check out these posts from two of our trusted Cyber Safety brands Avast and Norton.