How online platforms gather information on you, and what you can do about it

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As digital processes are being introduced in a myriad of industries and professional contexts across the globe, many Australians have largely embraced the digitalisation that their country has experienced over even just the past two years.

The exponential growth of Australia's eCommerce industry over the COVID-19 lockdowns in particular, has prompted many citizens to recognise online platforms as convenient alternatives to traditional shopping experiences.

With the growing use of online platforms comes the realisation that our personal data isn't always as private as we may think.

In fact, without the use of a VPN, Australians have been unknowingly revealing their personal and device information, including their geographical locations, with not all internet users entirely understanding the extent at which their connection may be visible to third party onlookers.

Many cybersecurity experts are calling for increased awareness for the complicated nature of privacy in a rapidly globalising and digitising world.

Experts also assert that individuals have a right at the very least, to understand the risks they're agreeing to take when accessing the web.

Here is just a brief overview of how online platforms may gather our personal and device data, and how exactly you can minimise the digital risks that are most associated with user tracking.

Whenever you visit a website, your IP address is likely to be added to a record of site visitors that the owner of that platform will be able to access via their site's control panel.

This is how site owners are able to gauge their site's traffic statistics or more specifically, break down the geographical locations of all their visitors within a given timeframe.

But why is this information pertinent to site owners? In actuality, being able to discern where their site visitors are coming from can also be a matter of security for site owners themselves.

For instance, if the owner of an eCommerce website in Australia was suddenly receiving an influx of US site visitors that make no purchases, chances are these visitors are actually malicious bots, or that somebody in the US is calling attention to their site for potentially malevolent reasons.

If site visitor activity seems at all suspicious, site owners may be able to pre-empt a cyberattack or fraudulent online orders.

If, however, you don't feel comfortable with potential third parties being able to discover your IP address, your ISP provider, and thus pinpoint your geographical location, a VPN in Australia (see more) will be an invaluable asset that will keep you online on your own terms.

A computer cookie (also often referred to as a 'HTTP cookie') is the name given to a small block of data that's placed on your device by a web server that the device has found itself connected to.

You may find yourself interacting with cookie consent notifications whenever you access a site for the very first time.

These consent forms may differentiate between 'functional cookies' and 'session cookies' and a mixture of third party cookies, or cookies provided by bodies that operate externally to the web server you're using to access the website that's providing the cookie consent notification.

As the origins of third party cookies aren't always apparent to device users, it's common for ICT experts to dissuade users from blindly clicking 'accept all cookies' when accessing a site for the first time, as doing so may provide third parties to access your user or device data, like any products you may look for online, even on other platforms or websites.

You can greatly minimise your risks of being tracked by third parties by simply declining all 'non-functional' cookies that a site may be asking you to accept.

Cookies have also been known to hold other negative impacts for devices and device users, as an excessive amount of cookies can cause computers and mobile devices to experience lag or slower connection speeds.

Practicing critical thinking when interacting with cookie notifications, may essentially also help play an integral role in ensuring that your devices continuously boast optimal connection speeds.

Finally, it's no secret that social media behemoths like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have acted as extensive sources of data for corporations across the globe.

In the wake of the Facebook - Cambridge Analytica data scandal in particular, netizens across the globe realised that these 'free' digital platforms do come at some personal cost, and our mere presence on these platforms is in itself, an act of consent to having our data collected and retained by social media conglomerates.

As these social media giants are able to thrive by running ads and offering specialist targeted digital ad services to their corporate partners and clients, the best way of ensuring that your personal data isn't being collected by third party organisations on social media, is to simply minimise your use of these social media platforms, at the very least.

Even keeping sensitive user information like your date of birth and your educational or professional backgrounds, hidden from the public, can also help minimise the likelihood of your receiving targeted ads.

As many advertisers also run ads based on a user's geographic location, however, cybersecurity experts agree that the best approach to minimising your exposure to highly targeted or personalised ad campaigns, is to keep your social media presence to a minimum, and use a secure network connection or using a VPN when accessing the web.

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If you and your family are concerned about your privacy when browsing the web, it's highly recommended that you use secure browsing channels wherever possible.

A reliable VPN for Australia will also ensure that your geographical location and other sensitive user or device data stays encrypted when you or members of your household are online.

Practicing critical thinking when engaging with online platforms like eCommerce sites, is also highly recommended, and may also help keep your family safe from falling victim to fraud online.