Online Privacy

Your personal data is valuable. Learn who collects it, how it is used, and how to protect it.

79%

of internet users are concerned about their online privacy

540M

Facebook records exposed in a single data breach

$120B

generated annually by the personal data industry

What Is Personal Data?

Personal data is any information that can be used to identify you - directly or indirectly. This includes your name, email, phone number, location, browsing history, photos and even your device's IP address.

Every time you use an app, visit a website or make a purchase online, data is being collected about you. This data is bought, sold, and used to target you with advertising - and if it falls into the wrong hands, it can be used to defraud you.

Understanding what data you share, with whom, and how to limit that sharing is one of the most important digital skills you can develop.

Data You Share Knowingly

Name, email, address, date of birth, payment details, profile photos, social media posts

Data Collected Silently

Browsing history, location data, device identifiers, purchase patterns, search history, app usage

Data That Can Harm You If Leaked

Passwords, financial details, health records, government ID numbers, private messages

10 Steps to Better Privacy

Practical changes you can make today to significantly reduce your digital footprint and protect your personal data.

Review your privacy settings

Check every app and social media account. Set profiles to private and limit who can see your posts, location and contact details.

Use strong, unique passwords

Never reuse passwords. Use a password manager to generate and store unique passwords for every account.

Enable two-factor authentication

2FA adds a second verification step that stops criminals even if they have your password.

Be careful what you share publicly

Avoid posting your full date of birth, home address, phone number or travel plans publicly on social media.

Read app permissions

When you install an app, check what it can access. If a flashlight app wants your contacts, reject it.

Use a VPN on public Wi-Fi

A VPN encrypts your internet traffic, protecting you on public networks in cafes, airports and hotels.

Keep software updated

Updates patch security vulnerabilities. Enable automatic updates on your phone, computer and apps.

Check for data breaches

Visit haveibeenpwned.com to see if your email has appeared in any known data breaches.

Limit data shared with websites

Decline cookies where possible. Use a privacy-focused browser like Firefox or Brave.

Delete accounts you no longer use

Old, unused accounts are a liability. Delete them so that data cannot be breached.

Your Privacy Rights

Under various data protection laws, you have rights over your personal information held by companies and organisations.

Right to Access

You can request a copy of all personal data held about you by any company operating under data protection law.

Right to Erasure

You can request that a company delete your personal data, also known as the right to be forgotten.

Right to Rectification

If data held about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to have it corrected.

Right to Restriction

You can request that a company stop processing your data while a dispute is being resolved.

Right to Portability

You can receive your data in a machine-readable format and transfer it to another service.

Right to Object

You can object to your data being used for direct marketing or profiling at any time.

Online Privacy

What Is Personal Data?

10 Steps to Better Privacy

Your Privacy Rights

Think your data has been compromised?

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