In an increasingly technological and ever-changing world, it is up to the user of new technologies to inform himself and protect himself. With the increased use of services on mobile devices, more and more user-created accounts/profiles with sensitive user-provided information are emerging.
Attentive to this information are the big economic groups, as well as government organizations and computer “pirates”, who try to be at the forefront of the private information “war”, using it to manipulate the masses in the direction that suits them best. By accepting the “Terms and Conditions” of a certain service or application we are opening a totally free and direct path into our personal lives, allowing them for example to use our cell phone’s cameras and microphone, access our photos, contacts and location. A very enlightening example is the fact that a photo editing application asks to access your location and microphone, mechanisms that are unnecessary for the function it will perform.
How many times do we talk/research about a certain topic and then suggestions about it appear online and, in the most ignorant way, we say “It seems like fate, I just commented on this the other day”, acting naturally as if it were an ordinary habit.
We should and have the right to privacy. The next time you install an application or browse online be aware of everything that is asked of you and read the “Terms and Conditions”. There are some good practices that can protect us, such as, if you don’t need to have your phone connected to the internet, turn off mobile data and WIFI, don’t accept all permissions that are requested when installing applications, don’t always use the same password and/or bank card pin for online accounts, always use double protection mechanisms in banking applications, and don’t talk about personal information on the phone. Whenever you want to have your private moments leave all electronic equipment as far away as possible and enjoy the most important achievement of the human being, FREEDOM!
Manuel Antunes, CEO ADN Agency.pt