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Keeping Your Data Safe Online

Your digital footprint is larger than you might think. Every time you use the internet, you leave traces of data behind - some obvious, like your social media posts and search history, and some less visible, like cookies, form data, device information, and geolocation. This digital trail can expose sensitive details about your life, from basic information like your name and email to more personal data about your location, habits, and connections.

Steps to Protect Your Privacy and Safety Online

The following tips provide some steps you can take to protect your privacy and safety online.

  • Consider who you give access to your information: Review your settings. Most social media sites provide private, public, or your network settings. If you choose private, only connect with people you truly know, consider excluding acquaintances or people who are second- or third-degree connections.
  • Professional websites: Be deliberate. Restrict to professional content only, excluding references to family, travel, and other things from your personal life.
  • Pause before you post: Does the picture you’re about to post include your home address, the name of your street, license plate, phone number, personal email address, or other information that identifies your location or personal information? Watch out for pictures that could reveal information when zoomed in, such as pet identification tags or papers on your desk. If you are travelling, consider waiting until you return to share about your location or the fact that you’re absent from your home.
  • Limit the personal information you provide on social media: Remove your birthday and consider using a different or shortened version of your name to provide a level of anonymity.
  • Delete what you don’t need: consider closing old accounts you no longer use, don’t allow retail sites to store your credit card information, and clean-up accounts with old, easy to guess passwords.
  • Search yourself: Use a different browser than you typically do or use Chrome’s Incognito mode to avoid getting expected outcomes.
    • Next steps: having a better understanding of where your data exists online can help prioritize requests for deletion or decide what data you wish to keep online (e.g. professional or educational achievements, publications, etc.).
  • Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication: Use at least16 character passwords; longer is stronger with passwords. Use different passwords for different sites. Combine your strong password with the application’s two-factor authentication option.
  • Manage your passwords: A password manager is a tool that generates and securely stores passwords. These tools plug-in to your favorite web browser and simplify securing and use of passwords for your accounts.
  • Use AU provided services that support workplace privacy: Use the Webex phone for making calls from your computer or cellphone, and the Virtual Private Network (VPN) whenever you are on public, free, or shared internet (See What is the VPN? for help.american.edu support articles).
  • Going the extra mile – remove your data from data brokers: this is a long-term goal, but if you really wish to reduce your digital footprint you can take steps to opt out of online data brokers. One helpful guide can be found here: https://www.fastcompany.com/90310803/here-are-the-data-brokers-quietly-buying-and-selling-your-personal-information (Note: you will often need to find your specific page to request opt out and then once you submit the request you’ll have to click a confirmation link emailed to you).

Request Digital Privacy Discussion for Your Department or Unit

If you would like to invite the Director of Cyber Policy to discuss digital privacy with your department or unit, please email privacy@american.edu with a request.

Steps to Take If You or Your Colleagues Experience Online Targeting or Harassment

If you or your colleagues experience online targeting or harassment, in addition to reporting it, we encourage you to take these steps to care for yourself or each other:

  • Know that it will pass
    • Sustained harassment is rare. Physical violence against educators is almost unheard of. 
  • Forward communications
    • Forward all harassing or threatening communications to campus security, who are trained to recognize credible threats. 
  • Ask for help
    • If harassment is particularly bad, consider asking a friend to scan your emails and social media.
  • Do not respond
    • Do not respond on social media. Do not reply to harassing emails. Do not answer requests for comment from bad-faith media. 
  • Don't feed the trolls
    • Don't speak about the emotional toll the harassment is taking in spaces where trolls etc. are likely to see it. This encourages them.
  • Reach out