Social Media, Protect your data

Social media has always played a role in activism and in spreading news some people would rather keep quiet. It has also become one of the largest sources of personal data collection on the planet - and most of that data isn't taken from you. You give it away.

Every post, like, photo, location tag, and friend connection is a data point. Platforms build a profile of who you are, what you believe, who you know, and what you're likely to buy or click next - then sell access to that profile to advertisers. You are not the customer. You are the product.

There is no meaningful guarantee about how that data will be used, who it will be shared with, or how long it will be kept. Once something is online, treat it as permanent - screenshots and archives exist long after you delete a post.

A word about kids and teens.

Young people are the most exposed group on social media and the least equipped to judge the risk. Platforms are built to maximize time-on-app, and that design collides with a developing brain's impulse control. Beyond the privacy angle, families should be aware of:

• Default-public profiles and location data on many apps aimed at teens
• Strangers using public interests/photos to build trust before asking for private information or photos
• Peer pressure and oversharing that becomes searchable and permanent
• Data brokers building "teen" and "family" profiles used for targeted ads

If you're a parent, review privacy settings together, turn off location sharing by default, and talk about what should never go online - not because kids can't be trusted, but because the platforms are built to extract as much as possible and won't warn anyone when that goes wrong.

What you can control:

• Assume anything you post is permanent and public, regardless of the privacy setting you chose today (settings change, platforms get hacked, friends screenshot).
• Review each app's privacy settings periodically - they change often, almost always in the direction of collecting and sharing more, not less.
• Turn off precise location and "nearby friends" style features unless you have a specific reason to use them.
• Don't link your primary phone number or main email to accounts you use for anything sensitive; use an alias.
• Use a privacy-respecting search engine like DuckDuckGo instead of a search engine tied to your social/ad profile.
• Consider a VPN before logging into any social account from a network you don't fully trust - see our VPN/TOR article.
• Use a secure, independent email provider (Tutanota is a good example) for account registration rather than the same address everywhere.

Some platforms now require a verified phone number to keep using the service. Many will not accept a virtual or VOIP number such as Google Voice or others. If you lack an actual active cell phone, in many cases you are simply locked out. That's a real problem for anyone who needs anonymity - activists, journalists, survivors of harassment, or anyone whose safety depends on staying unlinkable. If that's you, weigh whether the platform is worth that exposure, and take extra care with the rest of your digital footprint if you decide to stay.

None of this means don't use social media - it means use it deliberately, knowing exactly what you're trading for the convenience. You can purchase a separate "burner" phone which at least gives you a real phone number to register for these apps. Few ever ask you to verify again and offer to let you log in via an email code. Check first if that option is available before tossing your burner.