Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
This weekly reminder will focus on social media apps and what can be done to mitigate the major privacy issues that come with using them. From 1996 with a small platform called “Six Degrees” to present-day platforms/apps like Tik Tok, Instagram, and BeReal… the concept of connecting with friends through public profiles, friend lists, and school affiliations over the internet has evolved and taken our day-to-day lives by storm.
And while we, as a people, continue to debate the ethics and morality behind using these social media platforms……. This email will focus on what happens to your data. Are you reading the small print? Do you know with certainty what is happening every time you use your social media of choice?
Well, it’s not as obvious as you may think. By design, these social media platforms must process your data every time you log in. These technologies have control and access to your private data, as the sharing of the user’s content (pictures, videos, posts, etc.) is the core principle of what they do. They need your information to function and require you to connect to others to continue operating. Data must always be processed. And while sharing between friends and family isn’t a bad thing… it’s the road you “travel on” that is the issue. And social media platforms don’t have a great track record of walking each individual user through their privacy settings.
Here is what is at risk:
• Data processing – The process of how these platforms obtain your data, sift through your information, and create “customer” profiles on what you like or don’t like. This is a major invasion of privacy. The price you pay to use these free services is having a corporation also look at your data and everything you do.
• Sharing with third parties – These customized profiles are shared/sold to third-party companies, so they can create more ads for things you may like. Talking out loud about a product can sometimes prompt your social media app to send you ads about it. Spam emails or phone calls are direct results of these platforms selling your data to third-party companies. Identity theft is a real problem!
• Location data – your device is capable of geolocation and your social media apps track where you took a photo, posted a video, and use it to store data on your location. This is a breach of personal privacy and security, as your location shouldn't be disclosed to a company or corporation to do with it as they please.
• Search engines – Try googling yourself to see what you may find. Employers, close friends, rivals, competitors, or criminals can use google to find information that is public or has leaked on the internet due to poor privacy settings in these social media platforms.
The idea that a company can have your pictures for 30 years is an eternity on the internet. Platforms like “BeReal” that advertise being different or doing social media a more “real” way, don’t change the fact that they still own your data. It is how they are constructed. Without users and their personal information, every single one of these platforms ceases to exist.
So, is there anything that can be done? Do we just stop using the internet altogether? Not necessarily. But we can be smart about how we use it.
Here is what you can do to protect your privacy using social media platforms:
- Create strong passwords
- Ensure your profile is set to private – say no to adding strangers
- Ensure geolocation is turned off – it is not automatically turned off
- Think twice before “checking in”
- Keep an eye out for scams, phishing, etc.
- The internet is forever – do not post something you KNOW should not be on it
- Keep your devices protected
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, do not use it as often. Their free services will always come at the price of your own privacy.
Read more about it here – Protecting your Social Media Accounts & Major privacy issues with BeReal
As always, please feel free to reach out to the MDSA Helpdesk if you have any questions, issues or concerns.
Have a safe and joyous thanksgiving!