How You Can Protect Your Privacy
The ProxyMesh Privacy and Security Overview summarizes the ways our service protects your online privacy and security. Here in this article, we’ll cover some additional steps you can take to protect your privacy and data.
Know the laws and your rights
Sponsors of websites have not always honored requests to refrain from selling their customers’ data. Many customers have not realized they have the right to make that request. Government is now enacting stronger laws to prevent sales of personal data.
Not all privacy issues are addressed in any single piece of legislation. However, just about every country has enacted new laws to strengthen privacy protection. In the US, both federal and state governments have done so.
Here’s a link to a good summary of current law in several countries and US states: Data privacy laws: What you need to know in 2022
Configure your browser
Enhanced Tracking Protection. Trackers follow your online travels to collect information about your browsing habits and interests – and personal information, if possible. You can configure your browser to block many of these trackers and other malicious scripts.
Erase cookies & browser history. Do it selectively so you don’t lose the way to legitimate sites you need to access quickly. Browsers have an Exception feature that lets you exclude specific cookies and sites from a general erasure.
Choose your agents
Choose your agents carefully, including browsers and add-ons to enhance privacy. For example, here’s a link to a list of privacy add-ons-for Firefox.
Alternatives like Brave and hardened Firefox were developed to address the high concern for privacy. They can be instrumental in reduction of tracking.
For ad-blocking on your smartphone, consider Brave, Bromite, or Firefox Focus.
Opt out
Opt out of websites specifically or generally. As an example of general opt-out, global privacy control notifies many businesses concurrently of your privacy preferences. This feature is now included in the web browser Brave, and it’s expected it will appear soon on websites and apps such as DuckDuckGo and Firefox.
Third-party databases
Your data can end up in third-party databases that collect it from specific sites you visit. Those databases can get hacked or accessed with malicious intent. You have no control unless you can keep data out of third-party databases. So it’s good to prevent your data from getting there in the first place. If that can’t be avoided, make sure you leave no identifying information at the sites you visit.
You can opt out of third-party prescreened lists by calling 888-567-8688 or typing a request at OptOutPrescreen.com. These two methods allow you to opt out for five years.
You’ll find detailed steps for erasing your data from several third-party collectors at How to remove yourself from data broker sites.
While the Internet has introduced great new opportunities for commercial and individual data research, the need has arisen for a wide range of new security and privacy measures. ProxyMesh provides a gamut of protections for your data and your identity, and we hope this article helps you in building additional protections that fit your specific situation.