Digital life has brought the world closer. Everything you need is just a click away. Whether you want to shop online or search for your long-lost friends, it is possible. And this ease of use has made the internet a big platform with billions of users worldwide.
However, this increased accessibility comes with its own threats. Look at it as your home; if you keep buying new things without throwing away the old stuff, your house will never be clean.
Likewise, you unknowingly create digital clutter if you don’t optimize your online data. This clutter is the portal to all your sensitive information, which you have left open to the world. So, it is time to scoop out all the digital residue and start anew.
Table Of Contents
Delete the extra apps
Almost everyone downloads apps they do not plan to use in the long run. One of the reasons is that you download an app on recommendation but realize it is not for you. Another cause can be that a site persuades you to download some application to use its services.
Lastly, you downloaded a gaming app excitingly, enjoyed it for a few months, and did not want to delete it due to nostalgia. All these apps become a source of security issues or hamper the smooth running of your system. After all, unused apps can do more harm than good.
So, it’s always advisable that you uninstall all these apps from your phone, and here’s how to do it.
iPhone
- Go to the settings of your iPhone and click on the ‘General Settings.’
- Select ‘iPhone Storage’ and look at the last usage of each app.
- Delete the apps you have not used in the past six months.
Android
- Go to play store and select ‘My Apps’ from the menu.
- Select ‘Installed’ and change the settings from ‘Alphabetical’ to ‘Last Used.’
- Delete the apps you haven’t used for a very long time.
Use strong passwords
A digital lifestyle cannot be boosted without an up-gradation in passwords you use. Only having a password will not save you from hackers. Therefore, most sites have a mandatory set of rules to be followed while setting a password. The rules are:
- Minimum 12 characters.
- One or more special characters.
- Include at least one number.
- Combine upper and lower-case letters.
Apart from this, you need to maintain different passwords for different accounts. Even if a hacker gets access to one of your accounts, the rest of your accounts remain safe.
And lastly, use a two-step authentication method whenever possible. If somebody gets hold of your login credentials, they cannot get into your account without the right OTP.
Delete all your old accounts
No good comes from having multiple accounts on sites that you no longer use. They are just another way to lose your personal information online. But the most challenging part of this is recollecting all the places you have created accounts.
Here are some of the ways you can search for the accounts you have forgotten about:
Go through your email
To open an account online, you need an email id. Every time you use it, there will be a notification containing details about your different accounts. Select and delete the ones you no longer use.
Several sites let you log in using Facebook or Twitter accounts. Hence, you can get the details of all the accounts you have made using these applications. Delete the information of the accounts you no longer need.
Be mindful of what, when, how much, and where you share your information. Avoid sharing your location to the world on social media or having a location tag always feature. It can compromise your safety.
Additionally, do not trust free public Wi-Fi. Unless you download VPN and connect to remote servers, your connection can be highly unsafe. After all, you cannot control the security measures taken on unknown networks. A Virtual Private Network fixes common Wi-Fi problems by encrypting users’ traffic. It means no one can intercept or modify it.
Delete extra browser extensions
These extensions sit quietly on your browser and secretly make a record of your data. To avoid such unnecessary issues, make it a habit to delete all the unwanted extensions.
Firefox
- Open Firefox and click on the three-dot icon on the right-hand side.
- Select Add-Ons and delete all the extra extensions.
Google Chrome
- Open the app and click on the puzzle icon present in the upper right-hand side corner.
- Select Manage Extensions to delete all the extra extensions.
Conclusion
Even if you delete certain applications or no longer use a specific site, it does not mean that your information has been deleted. Make sure to delete the account before uninstalling any app permanently. Always be cautious of click baits and keep a record of all the places you have given out your data.
