Hungry? Identifying your privacy risk appetite.

At Faraday, we know it's only sometimes possible to be completely private online. In our society today, it's purely not practical or even possible to be disconnected. It would require immense effort to undertake and upkeep if you were seeking to do that. We highly recommend reading Kevin Mitnick's "Art of Invisibility", as it's a fun read, and he describes how to go off the grid entirely and why it's not doable.

The world-wide-web now maps our lives; for better or worse, connecting with people has always been challenging. You likely use social media for many purposes, including work and career, hobbies, education, etc. But unfortunately, privacy has become more of a privilege rather than a given.

When every single aspect of our lives can now be posted and shared online, where do we draw the line? How do we ensure we do this responsibly and safely, yet in a practical way that lets us enjoy sending cat videos to our friends?

Understanding your privacy risk appetite and identifying what level of exposure you are willing to trade off to establish a balance between convenience, practicality and privacy is crucial. This will differ from person to person based on your values, experiences and benefits you receive from sharing information online.

So how does one identify what their risk appetite is?

1. What do you value and what are your boundaries? Understand what you do, not what people know and information you feel uncomfortable sharing with strangers. Ask yourself questions like, what do I think about my coworkers or boss seeing this post? What about that random stranger I made eye contact with at the crossing? Or how about my Aunt Judith, third removed?

2. What is the purpose of the information you are sharing? Before sharing information about yourself online, determine if the benefits outweigh the risks. Such as, refrain from posting about your new workplace position or posting content in your office unless it's on a professional platform like LinkedIn. Why? Someone with ill intentions may use that information to try and blackmail you by sending sensitive or embarrassing information to your employer. Therefore, it's crucial to have clear distinctions between the content you share privately and publically.

3. How sensitive is the information you are sharing? This is likely one of the most critical factors. First, evaluate how sensitive and informative the information you are sharing is. For example, posting about how you will be going on a trip to Ibiza over the school holidays is great, but knowing someone knows precisely when and for how long your house will be empty without anyone to watch over its belongings. While sharing that information with your trusted friends is fine, consider what if it got into the hands of someone with bad intentions.

Through these steps, you can get a handle on what information you are willing to share with the world and what information you wish to keep for yourself. This won't be a strict set of rules that won't change forever. Instead, they will grow organically to your needs as you revisit the information you wish to share. You may lock down further in the future and go as close to off the grid as you can get. You may even decide you wish to be a lifestyle YouTube blogger and share every single minute detail of your life, like the colour of the tissue paper box in your dining room. Whatever the case, identifying your risk appetite is the first step to navigating the digital world.

Talking about privacy can seem scary and intimidating at first. If it's never been something you considered, looking into your digital identity can be terrifying. However, it shouldn't be. Privacy requires ongoing maintenance and conscious effort, but it's achievable for everyone.