Data brokers are one of the more unpleasant aspects of the 21st-century’s technological innovations. With or without your permission, these brokers use a wide range of sources to gather your sensitive information, assess it, and either use it for their own purposes or sell it for a profit to third parties you know nothing about.
Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to thwart these brokers and keep your sensitive information private – just the way it should be.
Be wary of reward cards
Reward cards and loyalty schemes may seem like a good idea on the surface, but they should be approached with caution, as data brokers can use the details you provide for their own purposes. Data brokers have been found to draw their information from pharmacy loyalty cards, memberships and subscriptions, and retail store purchase histories. As a result, it’s a good idea to weigh the pros and cons of signing up before you agree to become part of a loyalty scheme.
Trick the tracking cookies
If you would rather not have your internet activity constantly monitored by cookies set by the likes of Google, there are a few things you can do to prevent them from tracking your web browsing.
Most websites will now give you an option to accept cookies when you first visit them; instead of accepting you can disable the majority of cookies for each site.
Another technique you can use is to switch to browsers that mislead Google and other advertisers into using new cookies for every website you visit, making it look as if you are a different user each time. These browsers include Mozilla Firefox and Brave. If you prefer to stick to the likes of Google Chrome, however, consider installing tools such as uBlock Origin to keep the cookies at bay.
Check your social media privacy policies
Last but not least, another way to prevent data brokers from acquiring your information is by double-checking your favourite social media sites’ privacy policies. Some will be more stringent than others, so it may be worth switching from one to another, or, at the very least, tightening your privacy controls on your accounts.
Opt-out of people-search databases
People-search websites provide a variety of information, some of which could potentially pose a threat to your well-being, such as your address and contact details. If you find that an account has been made for you on one of these sites, make sure you use the opt-out feature and then confirm with the site that it has removed your information.
While these databases can be valuable resources for a long-lost family member hoping to get in touch, they can also be used by more unpleasant entities and this could have troubling consequences.
Consider a data removal service
The process of manually opting out from data brokers’ databases is long and daunting. Therefore, companies such as Incogni can do it on your behalf for a monthly subscription.
Not only do such services relieve you of the hundreds of hours of work that this process entails, but they will also keep tabs on those brokers to make sure they don’t take your information again. In turn, this will improve your protection from phishing, identity theft, and other serious cyber threats.
