I know your secrets…

Our entire life is online. We introduce and submit personal data to the Internet almost every day from our computers, smartphones and mobile devices, plus other devices such as credit cards.

Maybe you are not concerned about what happens to your data, as you might think there’s not that much info available online ABOUT YOU, right?

Well, think again. Your full name is online. And most likely your age. Your gender. Full address. Phone number. Social Security Number. Family members. Blackberry code. Year you graduated. Schools you attended. Classmates. Credit card numbers. Pets. iPhone model. Car you drive. Pictures from your holidays, your birthday, work environment, your hidden tattoos, even that crazy night in a Club. IMEI number. Traffic records. Name of preferred actor. Military records. Past or current illnesses. Current pending loans and credit rating. Phone provider. Movies you like. Late payments. Cities you’ve visited. Anniversary dates. Current location. Most hated singer. Past and current employers. Languages you speak. Political views. Religious affiliations. Screen names. Password combining your horoscope sign and the year you were born. Video of you dancing in a wedding with your ex-boyfriend. Favorite TV series. Three things you’d take to a desert island. Current mood. Games you play. Nicknames. Favorite quotations. Books you’ve read. Music you listen to. The list goes on and on…

Most of this information can be accessed very quickly. The rights about intellectual propriety can be edited and sold if they are hosted on most social network, including pictures, texts, sounds, videos and other relevant information. Here’s a video of an extremely gifted clairvoyant who finds out specific financial information, and reveals the magic behind the magic, making people aware of the fact that their entire life can be found online. And by doing so, urges everybody to be vigilant.

So what can you do to reduce your personal information exposure on social networks, besides being careful with what you publish? Here are five easy steps to follow.

1. Limit who can post to your timeline: prevent friends from posting automatically to your timeline, and fine-tune who can view those posts.

2. Block tagged photos from your timeline: ensure that the posts and photos your friends tag don’t appear on your timeline without your explicit approval.

3. Prevent apps from gathering your info: Many apps ask users for access to their friends’ info. Control which bits of your information your friends’ apps can gather.

4. Disable “Instant Personalization”: disable “partner websites” that provide information about you and your friends when you visit them.

5. Change your default post privacy: on most networks, the privacy setting of your most recent post is the default privacy setting for your next post—except for on certain mobile apps. Outside of those apps, you can tweak the privacy settings for any individual post before or after you submit it.

What do you think about online privacy? Do you feel secure with the data you’ve shared? Have you ever experienced problems with your personal information?

Jorge Gomez serves as VP of Global Strategic Alliances at Andago, where he analyzes business opportunities and develops new market initiatives, increasing Andago’s Health and Wellness ecosystem of partner companies. Jorge combines his Computer Science engineering vision with an Executive International MBA background, along with a thriving passion for state-of-the-art technologies and World cultures.