Data Privacy Day : Protect Your Data

Sunday,January 28th, is Data Privacy Day in the United States.  That might sound like an oxymoron given the Snowden revelations and continued news of our growing lack of privacy.  That’s all the more reason to wake up and start paying attention to your data.  Understand what happens to your personal information when you visit sites, use services and download apps from Internet giants like Google, Facebook, iTunes and Amazon.

Data Privacy Day

You can learn more about Data Privacy Day on StaySafeOnline.org.  They have a full list of events happening across the country that deal with making your data privacy a higher priority.  That’s really what it’s all about.  At least as a beginning to understand the kind of information and just how much data is being stored as you browse the web, use search engines and talk to your friends on Facebook.  Not to mention your mobile apps.

The second image above reads “Terms and Conditions May Apply“.  This is a documentary released in 2013 that examines how free services are gathering your personal data with your approval.  Because let’s face it no one reads the terms and conditions.  After watching the documentary you might think twice before sharing so much personal information online and trusting sites that carry the big brand names.  It’s an eye opener.

  • If something online is free, you’re not the customer, you’re the product

Give that sentence some thought next time you log into Facebook to share your activities and family photos.

Since we spend most our time reviewing VPN services it would only be right for us to read the terms and conditions along with privacy policies closer and share the details of what we find.  We’ve started through the list of top VPN providers and will be sharing our findings throughout the year.  Trust me it’s insanely boring to read legal speak but it’s also revealing to see how many companies are tracking your online activities.