The content of this below blog is taken from X4all, at Analyst ICT have had the question so much that we thought it would be useful to share it with you. In this Blog below you will read how to quickly and easily remove your traces from 5 of the biggest tech giants; Google, Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft and Apple.
“We know where you are. We know where you have been. We know more or less what you're thinking about.” So said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt in 2010. Guarding your own privacy is constantly balancing between the pros and cons of openness. That Google knows so much about you makes their search engine unsurpassed. That web shops monitor your buying habits ensures that you get products in front of you that are relevant. That's nice, but make no mistake. It is not their goal to make your life easier: in the end, their goal is to earn as much from you as possible. They do that best by predicting and influencing your behavior based on your data. The ‘fun’ services they provide are designed to know as much about you as possible.
A lot of data that companies have about you, you have given yourself. You also get to see that when you request what the company knows about you; they are required to do so by law. What they keep about you behind the scenes or what knowledge they cobble together about you using data from various apps or from third parties is impossible for an outsider to say with certainty.
For everyone, the balance between privacy and convenience is different. That's why it's good to think about it consciously. You can adjust platform settings to suit your preferences and minimize any digital traces. Here are some tips for commonly used websites.
Google is everywhere in our lives. There are alternatives to everything Google offers, but avoiding Google takes effort and sometimes results in more mediocre services. Use Google services consciously and wisely seems to be the advice.
What does Google know about you?
If you are not logged in with your Google account, Google stores data such as search behavior in a unique ID linked to your browser, app or smartphone, for example. If you are logged into a Google account, all kinds of personal data are also collected in the process. In a relatively simple way, you can see everything Google knows about you download. Interesting.
How do you erase your tracks?
It must be said: Google, with the ‘Privacy Check’ for your Google account, also a pretty user-friendly way to adjust your settings and clean up your past. For example, of your search history, locations and what you watched on YouTube, as well as voice and audio. Google listens in. You can also use the ‘Privacy Check’ to adjust future settings to higher levels of privacy.
The networking site is a master of seduction: everything is geared toward digging out your entire personal history, mapping family trees for them, and mapping all your activities with place, time and friend group for them ‘follow’. Please also take a moment to share your emotion, so they can find the right ads for your current ‘feeling’ can show. Ask yourself why you would tell Facebook how you feel, what party you vote for and what your relationship status is. If you want to use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, a good start is to share only the information needed to keep in touch with the people or clubs you want. All the settings can be found here.
What does Facebook know about you?
Go to ‘Settings’. Under ‘Your Facebook data’ you can see what information is known about you by Facebook: personal data, but also location history, interest in events, payments, etc. You can also download that data.
How do you erase your tracks?
You can use your entire account deactivate (temporary) or remove (permanently). Whether Facebook actually destroys your data afterwards (which is obligatory, by the way), cannot be said with certainty, but in any case you are no longer visible to the outside world through the medium. You can also limit the visibility of all your posts to ‘friends’ afterwards: only the people you are friends with via Facebook will see them now. If you want to be even more subtle, and you have a little time, you can adjust the visibility of each message or remove it altogether via ‘activity log’ (found on your own profile page, button on your cover photo).
Instagram is on a rapid rise, partly at the expense of parent company Facebook. The app is structured differently and seems less concerned with finding out where you grew up, who you hang out with where and what your mood is.
What does Instagram know about you?
Instagram obviously knows what you follow, like and share, so they can show the right content - read: ads. Furthermore, it knows what device is being used, and what cookies are found on it. But wait, there's more! You can have a request To find out exactly what Instagram stores about you.
How do you erase your tracks?
By creating an Instagram account with different data (think name, email address) from your Facebook account, you may be able to prevent all the data from being too easily tied together into a comprehensive profile. In any case, you can turn off the link to Facebook. You will then not automatically post your Instagram updates to Facebook as well.
Instagram's privacy options focus primarily on privacy from the outside world. Through the ‘privacy and security section’ you can limit the visibility of your account and posts. For example, this prevents your account from being suggested when someone follows your friends. As with Facebook, you can temporarily deactivate or permanently delete your account. According to Instagram, then after some time if your data will be deleted.
Microsoft
Microsoft, long lord and master of computing. Almost everyone used only a Windows PC that used Internet Explorer to access the World Wide Web. Except for a small minority of die-hards who stuck to Mac OS. Or, to an even lesser extent, Linux. With the rise of the smartphone and tablet, this monopoly was really broken. That is not to say that Microsoft is no longer a major player. Windows, Office and Xbox remain wildly popular. And are often used together with a Microsoft account.
What does Microsoft know about you?
Go to your Microsoft account. At the top of the screen, click or tap ‘Privacy’. Under ‘Activity Overview,’ you will then see what data is stored for each item. Think of your search history, device location, but also your browser history if you use the Edge browser.
How do you erase your tracks?
Under the same ‘Activity Overview’, you can also select what you want to delete by component and even subcomponent. At the desired subcomponent, click ‘delete’. Want to delete everything in the list at once? Then click or tap ‘Delete Activity’ at the top right of the list.
Apple
We can safely say that Apple has made quite a comeback since the 1990s. It is now impossible to imagine the streets without their products. Apple devices and services rely heavily on your iCloud account and thus Apple ID. Especially for integration between devices. For example, if you copy a photo or text on an iPhone, then seamlessly paste it onto a Mac. You are not required to do anything, but damn convenient it is.
What does Apple know about you?
Apple presents itself as a counterweight to Google and Facebook. They use the protection of your privacy to differentiate themselves from competitors. Of course, that doesn't mean they don't collect data at all. Through your Apple ID you can receive a copy of your data under ‘Data and Privacy’ and then ‘Manage Your Data and Privacy.
How do you erase your tracks?
Under the same ‘Manage your data and privacy’ you have the option to delete your account. All linked data will then be permanently deleted from all Apple apps and services. Straight to the point.
What does the law say?
Anonymity is an illusion, in the Internet and smartphone age. But some privacy is guaranteed to us by law, and that has been tightened in the European privacy rules AVG that went into effect last year. The AVG requires companies to handle personal data fairly and transparently: they must explain what data they use and why they do so, and they must process only the data necessary for their purposes.
Handy anyway and super logical!
