Many people are still unaware of the true impact that the Internet can have on their lives. Every day, large numbers of people share information on social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Does your digital footprint reflect the image that you want to portray to the world?
Information or data that you post online will leave tracks on the Internet, we refer to this as your Digital Footprint. Take a friend that has Facebook, look at their profile and ask yourself; would I like that information put on the Internet for my relatives or potential employers to see? There may be photos from nights out or thoughts that you posted on a bad day; all of these stay on the Internet in multiple locations once posted. This data may be accessed by people that you have never met or do not know, and they may even use it to negatively impact your reputation or attempt to defraud you.
The truth is that anyone who is determined enough can get hold of this data, despite privacy settings which you may have setup on your social media accounts. One of your friends or connections may download or re-share data, plus privacy controls may be weak or your may be unaware of policy or settings changes.
Think of Digital Footprints as like walking through the snow. Look behind you and you can see the trail for as long as the eye can see. The same applies to your online presence, except that when you log off, you are still traceable online, unlike the snow prints that do disappear. Even if you remove a post or delete your profile, copies of online data will likely still be retained by some servers. Unfortunately, nothing that has gone out on the Internet is truly “deleted” from everywhere.
When you visit or communicate with someone regularly, the trail that you leave is even more embedded. Think of this as like wearing down a particular track that you like to walk on a Sunday afternoon. Eventually it will become very obvious that this is your normal route, and anyone who wants to can easily follow you; especially if they know what shoes you wear! Think twice before you post, comment, visit, and like on social media. It will be around for longer than you think.
If you would like to learn more about your own Digital Footprint or if you would like one for your organisation, please check out the Digital Footprint Report offering from LDSC.