What is digital footprint?
So, you are an active internet user. You have atleast one social media account and in some point of time have uploaded a photo, shared a video, have liked/commented on friend’s post. Also, the likes on a post, private chat messages, the online shopping search of your favourite brand etc. Aren’t these the activities we, as individual’s tend to do to be connected and engaged or in search of something online? In simple terms, all this content builds up what is called as digital footprint.
That means, digital footprint also referred as digital shadow is a content (text or audio or video) with a set of traceable digital activities of an individual on the digital devices or any internet platform. That is, the stuff what you leave behind when you use online services for online shopping, social networking etc.
Why should you be concerned about digital footprint?
Once you are logged into any website be it for online shopping or listening to a trending song, remember that web is secretly tracking all your actions allowing the targeted marketers to advertise exactly what products you have been browsing in you recent past. Also social media platforms often introduce new policies of usage that we may tend to accept just by clicking Accept/Ok button without actually reading the policies. User privacy is a concern.
All this data can be leaked to make a profit out of it for research in terms of marketing products and building it better for human convenience where a set of customers habits and user experience can be traced.
Can we avoid not being eavesdropped?
As suggested by one of my friend you may say as well, if privacy is a concern browse without login into websites, use browser’s incognito mode, clear browser history. That doesn’t solve the problem at base level as there is this loophole: every device has a unique IP address and uniquely the browsed content can be easily traced.
Vivishine 