Achieving online anonymity is like heading out to the gym, working out, and getting in shape – meaning it requires effort from you. Similarly, achieving online anonymity requires effort from the individual user.
It takes more than just keeping a solid alphanumeric password. For ultimate online anonymity, you would need to make significant changes to your digital routine. Here are the essential steps you need to take to remain anonymous on the internet.
Use encryption for online activities
Whether it’s an encrypted messaging app or any other form of encrypted communication, make sure you use apps and services renowned for their encryption algorithms. Signal, a popular messaging app, provides end-to-end encryption by default, keeping your online activities completely anonymous.
Use an encrypted online browser
Browsers are riddled with online trackers that monitor your every online move. For example, Google has a strong reputation for collecting user data, sharing it with stakeholders, and advertise ads to you. With Google Chrome being the most popular browser, it is natural that the tech giant has a good grip on your digital activities.
You can use an encrypted browser that focuses on your online privacy and anonymity, such as Brave and Tor. Both browsers strongly emphasize users’ online anonymity, making them much secure than Google Chrome and other mainstream browsers.
Use a VPN
A Virtual Private Network, commonly known as a VPN, encrypts your entire internet traffic. Whether you’re accessing the internet via a browser or an app, you can rest assured that your online activities are anonymous and safe from eavesdroppers.
Apart from encrypting your internet traffic, a VPN hides your search history and all internet activities from your internet service provider, meaning you can evade geo-restrictions and stay off the radar.
Send emails securely
Emails are an essential part of our daily digital lives, and with work from home in place, inbound and outbound emails have significantly increased. There’s no better email ecosystem than that of Google.
It is convenient and user-friendly for almost everybody. However, many security experts argue that the tech giant’s email servers aren’t secure, given Google’s notorious reputation. Google has firsthand knowledge and might spy on emails if they have to because they can. Instead, use secure email services such as ProtonMail.
Use encrypted storage
With cloud and dozens of other storage options, it’s easy to get confused about which service is reliable. Again, with Google’s superior ecosystem and well-thought integration of their services in our daily lives, their Google Drive is by far the most popular and convenient way to upload, access, and share files with others.
From photos to sensitive documents, Google Drive makes it convenient for users to backup their data. However, from a privacy standpoint, Google Drive might not be the best option. Go for storage options that utilize end-to-end encryption.
Don’t share excessively
While sharing your daily life online might sound fun, it can haunt you later on. You never know who you’re attracting towards you. From the likes and comments to making things public, all seems well at first. For all you know, a hacker might just be waiting for you to post something personal so that they may take advantage of you. It could be your home address, bank details, phone number, etc.
Make sure you’re not sharing any personally identifiable information on the web, or you could fall victim to identity theft.
Review app permissions
No one has the time nor the patience to read through the terms and conditions of an app or any other software. Deep down in those privacy policies and permissions tab, there’s messaging that always the app or the service to know your location along with further details on your device.
It’s worth going through the permissions section to see what an app or software consumes on your device. If you find something fishy, go ahead and disable it immediately.
Keep in mind that by adhering to the steps mentioned above, your online anonymity isn’t guaranteed, but it increases significantly.
