Why people are cutting back their online profile

Anita Smith has always been cautious about the information she shares online. However, this concern intensified after the end of an abusive relationship with her partner, who subsequently began stalking her. Despite police intervention, she left the UK and significantly reduced her online presence.

"I erased my online presence as much as possible, including removing locations from some posts, as well as several Instagram accounts," said Ms. Smith, whose name has been changed for the purposes of this article. Ms. Smith, who works in communications, still has a LinkedIn account but does not use her full name. "I also removed a lot of things from my LinkedIn, a lot of location-based information, although there are still some posts."

"I've posted some things recently because I'm trying to build a brand, but I'm skeptical about how much to share." She maintains an original, private Facebook account: "I clean it up once a year and check the privacy of photos and posts and where I'm tagged." Ms. Smith has also become increasingly aware of the terms and conditions of social media platforms.

"I follow the trends in artificial intelligence, and I know that a lot of images are training AI models, and we don't have ethical guidelines on how they are used. This is another big reason why I would never put my children on social media, because those images can be used for any purpose." As scams become more sophisticated, research shows that more and more people are concerned about the information they share online. A Statista report showed that 39% of respondents said they were concerned about how companies use their online data, while a quarter (26%) admitted to using a VPN.

There are many reasons why people might want to reduce their online presence. "First of all, people underestimate privacy," said Vytautas Kaziukonis, CEO of Surfshark, a security software company that aims to encrypt users' online data and make browsing safe. "Information that may be harmless now could cause you difficulties in 10 years, for example, if the legal or political environment changes." Mr. Kaziukonis said another issue is the explosive growth of artificial intelligence. "Fraud is getting better and better, and the key to all scams is having data," he said.

Artificial intelligence is developing to the point where it can mimic people around you. Mr. Kaziukonis said that, combined with any personal information shared online, that creates a "deadly combination." Furthermore, information about us that we share online is collected by data brokers and sold to advertisers. This information can also be obtained by scammers, Mr. Kaziukonis said. "It's like the Wild West out there," he said. So, what can we do to minimize our footprint?

First, it's important to consider how much information you share online. "For example, don't share your home address anywhere, for example, accidentally filming a video with a laptop in the background with sensitive information, and when you shop online, don't add all the details to every random website, such as your date of birth," Mr. Kaziukonis said. "It could be leaked and used against you." He also recommends using different email addresses for registered websites. "This limits spam."

It is worth remembering that, under data protection laws, you have the right to ask companies to provide the data they hold about you and to request that data be deleted. "They have to comply, or they could receive huge fines," Mr. Kaziukonis said. Gus Hosein, Executive Director of the charity Privacy International, suggests several ways to reduce your digital footprint. He recommends using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which provides users with more online privacy for a fee. He also recommends using cookie blockers and choosing web browsers with privacy controls.

Karen Reynolds, a computer scientist at the University of Strathclyde, is researching security and privacy. Last year, she studied 15 privacy policy documents that listed how companies would handle your data. She found that the most complex of these took 32 minutes to read and required a university-level education to understand. "The situation is very bad," she said. She recommends that it is best to clear cookies on your browser from time to time and reduce the cookies you accept. "Also, you can stop some tracking. For example, Google can block tracking your searches."

Some people are turning to services like DeleteMe and Surfshark, which can help remove personal information from data brokers. Amanda Winterhalter, Product Manager at DeleteMe, an American data removal service, said that well-known people like video game players and judges use their services as a security measure. "In the case of judges... because if they announce some decisions, someone might show up at their house." She also mentioned the case of UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson, who was killed earlier last year. "Stories like that make ordinary people start thinking, I better get protected."

Ms. Winterhalter went through the process of deleting data when she joined the company. "You could see on the first page of Google every place I've ever lived, every phone number I've ever had, every email address. If someone wanted to steal my identity... they would be able to cause some real personal harm." The company also offers a service that can blur your house on Google Maps. "You can look at street view, but that particular property will just become very pixelated."

Sam Collingwood, who lives near Stratford, has been reducing her online presence for years for a number of reasons. The first was after an incident at work where she included her personal Facebook account in an email to a client, which her employer was not happy about. "They were able to see pictures of a night out," she said. "That wasn't great." In another incident, she was trolled online by a stranger after posting a video of herself learning to dance on YouTube.

In addition, the growing online fraud convinced her to further reduce her online presence. She hasn't completely erased her online presence, but she no longer posts on Facebook as often, reducing it by about twice a year. "I don't like being tagged by other people, other people knowing I'm not at home. Most of the time I delete the tags." She said she has upgraded her antivirus and security software using services from online security company Norton. "I want to make sure websites aren't getting my details. It makes me more comfortable."

But are there any downsides to being less present online? "I miss seeing old friends [on Facebook] and people I connect with once or twice a year," Ms. Smith said. Mr. Kaziukonis said he often hears people say they don't care about privacy, but he thinks that's a flawed argument. "They say I have nothing to hide. But do they mind sharing every email they send? We have curtains in our homes, we want to feel privacy. It's human nature."