Friday, January 31 is the last day of Data Privacy Week, an initiative by the National Cybersecurity Alliance to bring to our awareness how data produced by online programs may be stored and used. When we join a new social media platform, download an app, subscribe to a new resource, or open a new online account, we often are asked to provide some personal information as part of the setup process. We rarely consider how this information will be used, nor do we spend time reading the privacy policies associated with completing the activity.
Well, this personal information is very valuable for the businesses that provide the services we desire. Consider the following story told by our fictitious character, Sally:
It was a regular Monday morning, and I was catching up on my to-do list over coffee when I received a text: “Unlock exclusive discounts by completing your profile!” It was from an online shopping app I used often. I didn’t think twice before clicking the link and entering my information—name, birthday, and preferences for future offers.
I smiled at the thought of saving a few bucks on my next order, but by midweek, I started noticing strange things. Ads for products I’d never searched for began flooding my social media feeds. One app suggested connections based on people I’d only briefly interacted with offline. Then I got an email saying, ” Your NetKicks account was just accessed from another country. Was this you?”
That’s when I paused and realized: I’d traded privacy for convenience. It was starting to cost me.
I spent that evening researching data privacy, reviewing my online habits, and uncovering just how much of my personal data I’d given away over the years. I knew I couldn’t undo all the mistakes I’d made, but I could change how I managed my data going forward. With help from my research, I learned to take the following steps:
Understand the Trade-Offs Between Privacy and Convenience
I’d been too quick to click “Accept” without considering what I was giving up. Many apps and websites offer convenience—personalized recommendations, saved logins, and tailored notifications—but they collect a lot of data to provide these perks.
I began asking myself: Is the convenience worth the privacy I’m giving up? If the answer wasn’t clear, I skipped it. I stopped letting apps track my location unnecessarily. My weather app didn’t need to know where I was every second. I switched to typing my city manually when I needed a forecast.
Adjust Privacy Settings to My Comfort Level
The next thing I tackled was my privacy settings across apps, websites, and my browser. I realized that default settings often favor data collection, but most platforms allow adjustments. I spent an hour combing through settings and making changes that aligned with my comfort level for:
- Apps: I limited permissions like location, microphone, and camera access. For social media, I restricted who could view my profile and posts.
- Websites: I stopped “accepting all cookies” and instead chose only essential ones. Some websites still prompted me to enable more, but I got comfortable saying “no.”
It took some effort upfront, but I felt a growing sense of control.
Manage the Core 4 Tips for Online Accounts
My biggest weakness had always been managing my online accounts. I decided to simplify things by focusing on four key behaviors:
- Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): I stopped reusing passwords and invested in a password manager. It created unique, strong passwords for every account, that I no longer had to remember. I also enabled 2FA wherever it was offered. Now, even if someone got my password, they’d need a code from my phone to log in.
- Turning on Automatic Updates: I set my devices, software, and browsers to automatically update if I could, and made a commitment for others to install updates as soon as they are available.
- Subscriptions: I reviewed all my subscriptions. I canceled the ones I didn’t use and updated payment methods for the ones I kept. I deleted old accounts I no longer needed. Each time I found one, I used tools like JustDelete.me to make the process easier.
- Phishing Messages: I learned how to identify phishing messages by looking for tell-tale signs such as urgency and offers that are too good to be true.
Be Intentional About Data Sharing
I stopped giving away more information than necessary. For instance, when signing up for new accounts, I began asking myself: Does this company really need my birthday, phone number, or address? If it wasn’t required, I left it blank. I also started using an alias email for subscriptions and newsletters to reduce clutter in my primary inbox.
The Payoff
By the end of the week, my digital life felt lighter. Ads on my social media feeds became less invasive, my accounts were more secure, and I had a clearer understanding of how to manage my data responsibly.
The biggest lesson I learned during Data Privacy Week was that protecting my information isn’t about giving up convenience entirely—it’s about finding a balance. It’s about being proactive, intentional, and consistent with the little habits that add up to a big difference.
Now, every time an app or website asks for my data, I stop and think: What’s the trade-off? Because when it comes to privacy, it’s better to manage it deliberately than to lose control altogether.
Courtesy, Karen Clay