Own Your Online Presence

As our digital lives become more connected, it is increasingly important that we all protect our personal information and manage our privacy. STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™’s Own Your Online Presence campaign encourages digital citizens to better understand how to manage their digital lives with simple, actionable steps.

What does it mean to own my online presence?
Owning your online presence is actively managing your privacy and staying current with new ways to stay safe online such as using available tools – like privacy and security settings – to manage who sees the things you post online and with whom you share information

Why is it important?
What you may not realize is that there is probably more of your personal information floating around in cyberspace than you think. Everything, from what you post on social media and your browsing habits, to the information organizations collect about you leaves a digital footprint. The things you do online make an impact offline. You can create a strong and positive online reputation by taking steps to better manage your privacy and protect your personal information.

How can I own my online presence?
Personal information is like money. Value it. Protect it.
Information about you, such as your purchase history or location, has value – just like money. Be thoughtful about who gets that information and how it’s collected through apps and websites. 

Be aware of what’s being shared
Set the privacy and security settings on web services and devices to your comfort level for information sharing. It’s OK to limit how and with whom you share information. 

Share with care
Think before posting about yourself and others online. Consider what a post reveals, who might see it and how it could be perceived now and in the future.

Apply the golden rule online
Post only about others as you have them post about you. 

Keep a clean machine
Keep all software, operating systems (mobile and PC) and apps up to date to protect against data loss from infections and malware.

The National Cyber Security Alliance’s (NCSA) privacy awareness campaign is an integral component of STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™ ‒ the global online safety, security and privacy campaign. Data Privacy Day is the signature event for the campaign and is officially organized by NCSA in North America. Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January 2008 as an extension of the Data Protection Day celebration in Europe. The hashtag for NCSA’s privacy campaign efforts is #PrivacyAware.