Control Your Data Health

Online, we are constantly bombarded with requests for our personal data: cookies, websites asking for our location, subscription forms requesting job titles and employment details.

Unfortunately, these requests have become the norm. In our haste to access a website, we often click "accept cookies" or "allow location" without a second thought. This constant demand for our information raises critical questions about how our data is used and the long-term impact. We often see stories of old tweets resurfacing, leading to public backlash (in some cases, justified.) In 10 or 15 years, will we see similar stories about how our data was used to influence decisions about us or even predict behavior?

If you're looking to regain some control over your online information, here are a few of my favorite resources:

Education

• The Big-Ass Data Broker Opt-Out List: A comprehensive, curated list of data brokers along with instructions for opting out of their data collection practices.
• Deceptive Patterns: A resource to raise awareness about dark patterns—tricks used in websites and apps that encourage unintended actions.
• Federal Trade Commission: A blog from FTC, a government agency protecting consumers from deceptive or unfair business practices.
• How to Read a Privacy Policy: A simple guide on things you should be look for in a privacy policy and red flags to be worried about.

To Use

• Proton Mail: An end-to-end encrypted email service that does not track or sell your data.
• Privacy Badger: A browser extension from the Electronic Frontier Foundation that blocks invisible trackers.
• Duck Duck Go: A privacy-focused search engine that does not track your history.
• Brave: Another privacy-focused search engine that delivers search results entirely from its own, independent index of the Web.