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If your job involves creating multiple online accounts, either for yourself or your clients, privacy is probably one of your biggest concerns. The more accounts you create, the more difficult it is to track where your personal information is—and the greater the risk of it being exposed in a data breach or leak.
That’s why being aware of how to protect your privacy online is so important. In this article, we’re sharing five smart privacy tips for when you’re creating and using multiple online accounts as an entrepreneur.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Use Temporary or Secondary Phone Numbers
How many times have you given out your phone number when creating online accounts in the last year alone? Handing over your email address is one thing, but your phone number is much more personal, with dangerous consequences if it falls into the wrong hands.
If a website asks you to enter a phone number to receive a one-time SMS verification code, it’s safer to buy a temporary number from a provider like SMSPool and use this to receive the code instead. Visit this page for more information on how temporary phone numbers work.
Use a Password Manager
We’re all guilty of reusing passwords across platforms, but this is a bad idea, particularly when you’re creating business accounts that hold sensitive or private data.
The good news is that you no longer have to think up or remember long, complicated passwords, because password managers now exist. These generate and store strong, unique passwords that hackers simply won’t be able to guess, keeping you protected even if your account on one site is breached.
Set Up Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication might feel like a bit of a hassle, but it adds an extra layer of protection beyond your password and helps to keep your accounts much safer.
It’s better to use apps like Authy or Google Authenticator instead of SMS whenever you can. If a website or app ever gives you the option to enable 2FA, definitely do it, especially when it comes to your banking apps and email accounts.
Separate Business and Personal Accounts
When so much of our work and personal lives are online, it’s all too easy for work logins and personal accounts to end up merging. But from a privacy perspective, you ideally want to keep these completely separate.
Having these linked increases your risk of crossover hacks or accidental data exposure, so it’s well worth taking those few extra steps to keep them separate. At the very least, it’s a good idea to use dedicated emails for each type of account.
Avoid Public Wi-Fi for Sensitive Logins
Finally, public networks are easy to intercept, which could potentially cause problems if you’re partial to working in coffee shops and libraries when you’re out and about.
In this case, you don’t need to abandon working away from home altogether. Just make sure to use a mobile hotspot or a VPN if you need to connect securely while you’re out. If you have no choice but to use open Wi-Fi, don’t log into key accounts (like your bank or email) during this time.
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