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The internet is watching you. It listens to you through Facebook Messenger. It reveals your location with every Tweet you send with a picture. It keeps your forgotten updates, your teenage blog and your cringey MySpace selfies. It knows what you like, what you buy and who you’re friends with. It might also know where you live.
More and more it feels as though using the internet is like inviting a stranger into your home. The level of surveillance is uncomfortable, even before you consider that someone might hack you, or steal from you, or dox you.
And it doesn’t help that security advice tends towards tinfoil hat paranoia – realistically, very few of us are about to quit social media, use Tor for all our browsing or go live in a wifi-free cabin in the woods.
But there are simpler steps you can take. Yes they’re boring, paranoia-inducing and unfun, but the peace of mind is worth it! We’ve rounded up a few of the simplest, most effective and (mostly) free ways you can protect yourself and your data.
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