When we have a subscription to reliable services, such as CenturyLink internet that is one concern out the window because you know you have a reliable and secure connection that cannot be halted nor be cracked into. However, when we are constantly surfing through the internet we neglect many measures that we must be cautious about to protect our interests. 

With social media being a key aspect of our internet usage and we are constantly uploading the current statuses, we do not think it is safe to share which city or state you live on the internet and that is primarily because we do not consider our location as a piece of sensitive information. This cannot be farther from the truth. Just like we protect our social security numbers and credit card numbers, our location must be treated equally. 

With this constant use of social media, we have become accessible to the public eye. All our posts about where we are; ‘the check-ins’ and every snap about what we are doing or even eating have gotten to the best of us. Therefore, we are being less cautious about our online activities. 

In this article, we will discuss the measures we should take to protect our information from being accessible on the internet and why sharing your location online might not be the best idea.

Where You Live and Where You Don’t

Your one click for your status update online or even that location check-in information not only shows everyone where you are at the moment, but also where you are not. At the hands of criminals, this information can be just as hazardous, especially if you upload enough data to discover trends in your daily or weekly activities.

Location sharing not only lets people know where you aren’t, but it also lets them know exactly where you are.

Potential Victimization

Combat the urge to believe that some criminal anywhere isn’t interested in you or your belongings, even if they happen to stumble into your social networking sites by accident. The actual danger does not come from strangers. It’s from the acquaintances or friends and further on their friends who may already be aware of who you are or what you possess, instead the ones you don’t trust with your location and information. Your patterns are evaluated by the culprits and these can act as the catalyst and assist in possible crimes. 

Online Shopping

When you make an online purchase, you must supply credit card or bank account information, which is exactly what fraudsters are after. This information must only be provided to the sites that offer secure, and encrypted connections. It is easy to identify the secure sites. They can be identified by looking for the address that starts with HTTPS, rather than simply HTTP since it’s the S that stands for ‘secure’. You can see a padlock icon that appears next to the address bar which also indicate secure sites.

You must know that the online business you are shopping from is reliable. As they get access to your location when you place the order and also the credit card number, therefore this must not be compromised. Shop from reliable and trusted e-stores is recommended. 

How To Protect Your Location

Protecting your location is not a very difficult job to do. However, it is worth the time if it protects you from any criminal activities. You can simply check for the following:

• Make sure to go through the privacy settings on all your social networking applications.
• Have your location tagging turned off, this way your current locations will not be added to the pictures you take and upload.
• Avoid making any check-ins from your home.
• Always go through the privacy policy, to know what the application does with your location and data.
• Look for recognizable places in the image’s background.

Conclusion

Well, it is safe to say that it is not safe for you to share which city or state you live in on the internet. It gives access to the people committing criminal acts and it can be a threat to your security. Therefore you can take the aforementioned steps to ensure that your location is not being shared online. You can practice safe browsing and being unobtrusive about your whereabouts is a smart place to start.