We’re often told not to allow personal information online. It can open you up to identity theft and a whole host of other issues, but often it’s unavoidable. Many websites collect personal data via cookies, whilst your social media accounts are full of personal information for everyone to see. This is great if you’re trying to find a long-lost friend or trace a family member to their hometown, but it can also prove useful if you’re hiring new employees and want to know more about them. If you want to know more about a person, you may want to know how to trace a person using Bond Rees or a similar firm, and they’ll be able to trace them for you. However, how much personal information is too much personal information to post online?

Of course, you could opt to never use the internet again. This way, no data will ever be collected, and no information will be held on you. Obviously, however, this isn’t possible in the digital age. Instead, here are five methods that you can utilize to manage the privacy of your personal information.

1. Check on the Current Personal Information Available

Your first step should always be to check what pieces of personal information are available online about you. After all, that’s the only way you’ll be able to identify what you need to work on. There are public record search engines that offer this kind of information, but checking with a general search engine can be a great way for you to identify personal information as well.

2. Consider Using a VPN or a Proxy Server

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is one way to make your internet traffic more private. Essentially, a VPN puts your browsing information through a secure tunnel, so that even your internet service provider isn’t able to see what websites you’re on. A VPN can keep your browsing history private, making it so that providers can’t sell your data. While the features offered by VPNs are pretty impressive, one major drawback is that it is quite expensive and may require a substantial amount of spending. If you aren’t ready to make that investment, a more lucrative alternative could be to use a proxy server like this residential proxy. It happens to be a much more cost-effective option than a VPN and is also quite easier to set up and use than a VPN. Additionally, it also offers a faster connection speed than a VPN.

3. Change Your Privacy Settings on Social Media

Social media is one of the biggest ways that people end up having privacy issues. You might not even realize how much information is available through your social media profiles. For any social media profiles you either currently have or have used in the past, it’s a good idea to take a look at the privacy settings and see where you can improve.

4. Enable Two-Factor Authentication Whenever Available

Two-factor authentication is an easy way to make it even more difficult for people to access your accounts. With two-factor authentication, any time you log into an account, you also have to input a password, typically texted to your device. Two-factor authentication is a good way to maximize security for all your accounts.

5. Allow Some Public Information on the Internet Yourself

Most personal information leaks on the internet are unintentional. What if you set up a public persona online that people could instead find when they look for you? More and more frequently, potential friends, colleagues, and hiring managers are looking people up online. If you have a LinkedIn or Facebook account that’s there to give just a bit of personal information about you, you can control that information flow and help negate unintentional information.

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Conclusion

Managing personal information online is part of having personal information online in the first place. Most people will have some amount of their personal information available online; the only other option is to opt out of an online presence entirely. However, if you’re smart and are able to manage the information that’s available online about you, it’s possible for you to have an online presence that doesn’t allow people to utilize that information against you.