5 Steps to Better Manage Your Digital Footprint

Do you keep track of all your online accounts? Do you know where you have your payment information stored? When you regularly monitor your accounts, you can more easily catch or avoid suspicious activity. To get a handle on your digital footprint, we recommend these five steps as a place to start.

 

#1 - Keep a list of all your online accounts.
If you don’t have a list of your online accounts already, now is the time. Make a master list of where your information is stored. Think social media, online shopping, news sites, and other subscriptions. Include details like what data is housed on each site, and keep it updated.

 

#2 - Create unique logins.
It may be more convenient to log in with your email or Facebook account but resist the urge. Always make unique logins for your online accounts. This will help avoid a chain reaction from one data breach.

 

#3 - Delete accounts you’re not using.
Be sure to delete accounts you no longer use. If you haven’t shopped in a while or you canceled that subscription, take the extra step and delete your account.

 

#4 - Consider subscribing to a password manager.
Password managers are handy for remembering your logins, but they are even handier when data breaches occur. The service will notify you of existing passwords that have been compromised before damage occurs, making it worth the investment.

 

#5 - Make timely updates after data breaches.
When you know of a data breach, take immediate action to update all your affected passwords. This is where having a listing of your online accounts will come in handy.

 

When it comes to your digital footprint, we recommend acting now to avoid headaches in the future. Do you want to dive deeper? We love this information from Allstate Identity Protection.