Digital privacy facts for kids

Digital privacy is about keeping your personal information safe when you use the internet. It means you should have a say in how companies collect and use your data. This is important because many online businesses collect a lot of information about you.

Digital privacy has become a big deal because so much of our lives are online. When you use social media, you often pay for "free" services by giving up some of your privacy. For example, between 2005 and 2011, people on Facebook wanted to keep more of their profile information private. Even so, Facebook made a lot of money by collecting and sharing user data with advertisers.

The more you share on social media, the more privacy you might lose. All the information you share can be linked together. This means your thoughts and expressions might not stay just with you or your friends. Sometimes, building connections online can lead to less privacy.

There are laws that let people take action if their digital privacy is broken. For instance, in 2007, a lawsuit against Facebook made them close their "Beacon" advertising system. In 2010, users sued Facebook again for sharing personal info through their gaming apps. These laws often rely on you understanding what you agree to. That's why many people now focus on managing their own digital privacy by making smart choices.

Different Kinds of Digital Privacy

Keeping Your Information Private

Information privacy means you should control how your digital information is collected and used. This is especially true for details that can identify you, like your name or address.

The idea of information privacy has grown as technology has changed. When computers and the internet became popular, the way we share information changed a lot. Laws in places like the European Union (EU) help control how companies use your data. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU is a good example. It gives people more control over their data. In other places, like the United States, privacy laws might not be as strong.

Many websites and companies ask for your permission to collect your data. But sometimes, these requests are tricky. Websites might make it hard to see the notice or ask for consent often. This can make it harder for you to protect your privacy. For example, the social media app TikTok has been known to push users to share data, even though it can work without it. This has made some people wonder if the app is collecting data for other reasons.

Keeping Your Communications Private

Communication privacy means your digital messages should be secure. This means only the people you send messages to should be able to read them.

However, messages can sometimes be seen by others without you knowing. This can happen through hacking methods, like a man-in-the-middle attack (MITM). It can also happen if you don't read a company's privacy policy. You might think your messages are private when they are not. Companies sometimes aren't clear about how they use your information. To protect communication privacy, we need to think about how technology can keep our messages safe.

Your Personal Space Online

Individual privacy means you have the right to be online without unwanted interruptions. This includes choosing what information you see. It also means you shouldn't get unwanted ads, spam emails, or computer viruses. If these things happen, your individual privacy has been broken.

Staying Anonymous Online

Some internet users try hard to keep their information from being collected. This is called trying to stay anonymous. There are many ways to do this, like using special networks or services. Companies are also working on tools to block trackers and detect harmful software before it reaches your device.

Hiding Your Information

To keep your information private when you go online, you can use something called onion routing. This helps protect your personally identifiable information.

Onion routing was first made to hide where web traffic came from. It creates a path through many different "onion routers." All information sent through this path is delivered anonymously. Once you're done, the path is deleted. This technology became what we know today as Tor. Tor is free and open-source software. It protects both your anonymity and the anonymity of websites. This allows people to set up websites that are harder to block.

Keeping Your Messages Secret

While Tor can help protect your messages, other systems focus directly on keeping communications private.

One system is Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). It encrypts and decrypts email messages. This means it scrambles your messages so only the right person can read them. PGP has been around for many years and is now built into many email services. You can also add PGP software to almost any email platform.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) help keep online payments safe. Most web browsers have these built-in. While they aren't perfect, they help protect your information when you shop or bank online.

Other Ways to Stay Private

There are more ways to stay anonymous and protect your data.

Your IP address can often show your physical location. Changing your IP address can help you stay anonymous. Services like VPNs let you appear as if you are in a different part of the world. You usually pay a fee for these services.

A Virtual private network (VPN) gives you a secure connection over the public internet. It creates a "tunnel" for your data, keeping it safe from different attacks. VPNs are good for protecting your IP address and data in cloud services.

Another method is network address translation (NAT). This hides your computer's IP address behind a main gateway, making it harder to trace your specific device.

The "No Harm" Rule

The idea of the "no harm principle" means you can do what you want as long as it doesn't hurt others. In your private space, you are free to do as you wish.

Years ago, with the rise of photojournalism, people started talking about the "right to privacy" for celebrities. Today, privacy issues affect almost everyone because so many people share data online.

The Value of Your Data

Your personal data has value. It has a commercial value for companies and a private value for you. When data is collected, it can have both good and bad effects. It can also lead to privacy problems and even cost you money. As data analysis gets better, there are more concerns about how much data is collected.

Laws like the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act are being made to protect your data. But technology is always changing. It's important for you to understand how to manage your online privacy. Lawmakers also need to find a good balance between using the internet and protecting privacy.

Privacy Problems and Data Breaches

Sometimes, people try to get your personal information illegally. This is often called hacking. Hacking can be aimed at one person or a whole group.

If a hacker wants your information, they might target a company or group that already has it. This could be a credit agency or a social media network. By hacking that group, they could get your information along with everyone else's. There are online tools that can help protect your data from these kinds of attacks.

Phishing Scams

Phishing is a common way to steal your private information. A hacker might create a fake website that looks just like a real one you use, like your bank or a social media site. The fake website's address (URL) might have a small spelling mistake or a different ending, like ".org" instead of ".com".

You might get a fake email that looks like it's from the real website. If you click on a link in that email, it takes you to the fake site. If you try to sign in or give personal details there, that information goes straight to the hacker instead of the real website. Phishing attacks often try to get your bank details or social media logins.

Online tools, like web browser extensions, can help protect you from phishing. They can warn you about suspicious websites and links.

See also

In Spanish: Privacidad digital para niños

• Internet privacy
• Tor (network)

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