Blog Post #2 Privacy

                                Privacy               

       

 When using our devices we don't realize that we are being watched and our data is being tracked and traced when buying items or posting things or even looking something up on the internet. This information even follows us on the apps on our phones. This is crazy to think about how the private information on our phones isn't really private after all. 

                       Digital Footprint                                                                                                                                                                      Your digital footprint is a record of your online activity. It shows everything you've posted or said and continues to grow when you post and when you don't know that the websites or apps you are using can track your activity without you even knowing. 

Which include websites you visit, emails you send, and information you submit to online surveys. There are two types of digital footprints. Active digital footprints are all the data you are posting and well aware that you are posting. When posting things people really need to be careful about what they post because that information is like a tattoo it stays with you all of your life so be extra careful, as learned about in the Ted talk video about digital footprints. The other type of digital footprint is passive digital footprint which is data being collected or posted without the person even knowing.  Digital footprinting doesn't affect me much because I watch what I post but some of my friends just post whatever they want without a care in the world. All my social media accounts are private because I don't want just anyone looking at them which makes me feel a little bit more protected in a way.

Siri and Alexa-

We rely so much on technology every day but I never knew how dangerous technology was until after watching the Ted Talks in class. What worries me about people using technology is they don't know what they are doing in the first place on their phones but another thing is they do not know their information is being taken away from them and that is scary. As technology continues to expand and develop new devices these companies have unlimited access to information. For example, Siri and Alexa are huge devices that people use all over its a very popular device. People talk to them and they answer any question you ask. What's scary about using Siri and Alexa is that you don't have to say their name to get them to listen to you they can listen to your conversation without even saying anything. These devices can so much information by just existing on your kitchen table listening in on what you are saying. This really scares me for families and older people when they don't really have an idea about technology and how dangerous it can be and if the government is involved or not.

What should the government do about these issues?

The government should not be able to listen in to our conversations or track where we go, for instance in a TedTalk police were able to take pictures of people's license plates and track where they go throughout the day. In my opinion, there is no need to track people unless they are a criminal. It is beyond an invasion and privacy and also very creepy to have people spy on you. The government should honestly mind their business and worry about something else I don't like how they have information through our devices to try and catch us doing something or just having our information in the first place creeps me out. I know the government won't do anything about this because they depend on these brands of technology to figure out what's going on in the world and to make money.

What can we do to protect ourselves from an invasion of our own privacy?

Things we can do to protect ourselves is to really be careful about what we post and display to people about ourselves really has a big role in protecting our own privacy. If you don't want people to find out about something then simply don't post it because it'll come back to haunt you. Another way to protect ourselves is to use apps like Call, Text, or Facetime because no one can listen in to those conversations or read them. Lastly, another way to protect ourselves is to really pay attention to those privacy settings and actually read them so you know if your information is being scanned or used to hack you.