Stop telling people more than they need to know

Nowadays we find everyone with smartphones and using social media accounts. Not having a social media account makes you feel outdated in today’s fast growing online world. We often see people wearing fitness bands to track their daily activities and even sharing the information with friends to see who is doing better. We think sharing this type of data may be beneficial but often neglect the risks it might have. Data that is captured by these social media applications and fitness trackers reveal a lot about you, your thoughts and your daily routine. This data can be exploited and is dangerous for the individual and the organization where he works. Hence, data protection is a major concern in recent times.

In the European Union, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the new framework in place for protecting the fundamental rights of the citizens. This enables the citizens to get back control of their personal data.

Any information that relates to you, be it personal, or professional has to be protected. In the online environment, people use the internet as a medium to communicate with each other across the globe. It becomes difficult to keep track of and have control of one’s personal data. This is where data protection plays a major role.

Data protection is a policy that builds users trust assuring him that his sensitive data will not be compromised. That’s not all, it also gives the user the control to decide if he is willing to share his information, who will be allowed to access it and for how long. He can also modify the information at any point.

What exactly is GDPR? GDPR states that if the website you visit wants to collects or store data related to an EU citizen, it must clearly state why the information is being collected, how long it will be stored, allow the user to delete the data at any point and most importantly it should let the user know if there is a data breach. This builds trust in the user and they will be willing to use the website. If you visit most website nowadays, you will see a pop-up requesting cookie consent, so the user can either accept or decline it.

If you have a website and you want to implement GDPR, you should perform the following initial steps:

1) Update your website privacy policy.
2) Make sure any libraries or plugins used are GDPR compliant.
3) Forms collect a lot of user data. Don’t collect excess data, collect only fields that you need for processing.
4) Send email marketing material only to users who have subscribed to receive this content.

Above were a few steps to make you aware of what is required. Initially implementing GDPR might appear to be complicated, but when the transition is complete, you will stop telling people more then they need to know.

Alisther Barreto