We are living in the information age, also called the digital age, and its main characteristic is the exponential expansion of the storage capacity, memorization of information, data, and forms of knowledge. The global integration of all this is an important aspect because people from all over the world are connected all the time, sharing, producing, disseminating information, and knowledge through the Internet.
We can feel the impact of this in our lives when we realize that we have gone from mere recipients of data and information to people who interact, share, and disseminate impressions, often contributing to produce ideas and even actions.
When browsing the Internet, people leave their marks, their tracks, their digital footprints. This makes it practically impossible to find someone who is not inserted in some social network, or who does not have their data and information “online”, for example, in banks, notaries, Federal Revenue and other private databases such as services of telephony, insurance, energy, among others.
Just as you can search for a historical character, or a celebrity to find out more about their profile, tastes and activities, anyone can search for you and your life.
For many, it’s impossible not to use Google, whether it’s to do a search, or find a product/service, and your entire journey is stored somewhere. Search applications store a variety of user information to customize the services according to each user’s preferences and improve its tools.
But what is Google and why does it store so much information? Have you ever asked yourself this question?
Google is an American multinational online services company that generates profit mainly through advertising. The company’s product portfolio today is quite large and includes the Android operating system, Maps, Waze, Flights applications, the Chrome browser, Gmail, Google One cloud storage, Google Play, as well as YouTube and hardware such as Google Home, among others.
Knowing this, thinking about what Google knows and may come to know about you, might seem daunting. It has records, for example, of the history of websites you have accessed in Chrome, the product and price of an online purchase from Gmail, the videos you have watched on YouTube, and the places you have been with the help of GPS. from your cell phone and Google Maps.
The data that Google owns can be considered by many experts as an invasion of privacy. In fact, anyone can be vulnerable and have their information exposed, sold, and shared, often without any consent. Digital security is a topic that has been much discussed today. So, the first step is to be aware of it.
From there, we begin to imagine the immense amount of information that the internet knows about all of us. And this goes far beyond registration data, such as name, telephone, and address. In addition to browsing records, links and websites visited, it is also possible to find photos, audio records, videos and so many other things that were posted by us, or by our company, by relatives, friends, and more.
Given this, the question that comes to our mind is what can I do? Get ahead, find out what the internet knows about you before someone finds out what you don’t want to expose to everyone.
Start by doing a simple search by putting your full name in quotes on Google, and check out the result. If you want to go deeper, in addition to your name, you can add some relevant information to your search. Where do you live? What is your profession? Think of something that makes it easy to identify, as this will help Google find you.
You can then see your activities on Google by clicking on that link https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity . Take the opportunity to delete what you think is necessary by clearing your history. Then continue methodically and systematically researching the apps, social networks, and platforms you use the most, such as Facebook, Instagram, among others.
It is also important for you to know that there are ways to have more control over what is visible to everyone on the Internet about you. If you want to be aware of what is being added and keep up to date, just activate Google Alerts and you will be notified every time a person mentions your name on a website.
From these few lines, many other questions and issues can arise, such as the right to privacy in the digital age, exposure, and data leakage, how to have a positive virtual image, how to throw off the curious and protect their information, among others.
So how about we talk a little more about Digital Intelligence Skills – Digital Security? What are the consequences of this in your life? How to protect yourself in the digital world?
