Digital privacy: what it is, features and examples

What is Digital Privacy:

Digital privacy is the right that any web user has to decide which personal data they want to share and which they want to keep protected to protect their privacy.

The concept of digital privacy emerged at the same time as the internet and its ability to collect and share data.

In this sense, the protection of personal information on the network has become a topic of general interest as communication possibilities increase. Similarly, the amount of information and content that can be sent, received and disseminated increases the chances that such data will be intercepted by third parties.

Internet privacy features

When a user surfs the net, they leave a “fingerprint” or a trace of the actions they take. In this sense, digital privacy implies certain characteristics, such as carrying out certain tasks or sharing some of this data:

• Full name, home address, personal identification number, bank details, email addresses, personal photos, videos, or audios, answer digital surveys that ask for personal data, make purchases online, use customer services digitally (emails, chats, private messages) Share geolocation.

Companies that request this type of data or tasks can archive this information and use it for a commercial purpose (create user profiles, understand purchase decisions, improve the user experience, etc.).

However, although many of these companies or internet providers claim that the handling of personal data is confidential, there is no way of knowing. In fact, there are cases in which companies that sell their users' information to third parties have been discovered or situations in which a data leak has occurred, which allows information that should be private to circulate freely on the Internet.

On the other hand, not only companies can make use of personal data without the authorization of users. The hackers can find information on the Internet and use it for criminal purposes, such as stealing bank passwords or usurp identities to commit fraud.

Examples of digital privacy

There are several alternatives that allow users to protect their personal data when they surf the net. These are some of them:

Permissions for the use of cookies

The cookies are files that web pages are stored on the device and allow the user to make a tracking your online activity. For this reason, various legislations contemplate that companies inform users that they are using cookies and ask them for permission to access their personal data.

Privacy policies

These are legal documents in which digital companies or internet providers inform users about their internal policies regarding the use they make of their personal data.

Privacy policies always include a box or option for the user to confirm that they have read and accepted the terms of said policies.

Legal warning

A legal notice is a document in which users are informed of the terms and conditions under which they can use the web page they are consulting. There may appear some guidelines linked to its privacy policy.

Right to be forgotten

The right to be forgotten is one of the most important initiatives that have been created to protect the privacy of personal data on the internet. In essence, it is the right of every user to ask internet service providers (web pages, providers, search engines) to delete their personal data from the web.

This right only applies when the user's data was used improperly or when the exposed information is outdated.