Protecting Online Privacy

Taking Steps to Protect Privacy

Every interaction on the web creates a digital footprint — a record, often permanent, of your online activity. And this record is not always as private as you might think. If you don’t take steps to protect your privacy, your digital footprint might be visible to marketers, future employers and unfriendly strangers.

One of our goals with My Tomorrow is to teach our students about digital citizenship — being good stewards of their online presence. We are teaching our students how to access the wealth of knowledge on the Internet, and how to protect their online privacy and reputation in the process.

Protecting online privacy is something that can and should be done at home, too. Commonsense.org offers five tips that you can take to protect your online privacy:

1. Always use privacy settings.
2. Don't share your location, ever.
3. Don't participate in questionnaires, free giveaways or contests.
4. Find and use the "opt out" buttons.
5. Always review the privacy policy.

Watch the video for more information about why taking these steps is so important for safety and security, and visit Common Sense Media for additional tips about protecting your privacy.