With the internet becoming a popularly growing resource, not just for fun and leisure activities but also for learning and being aware of important things, it’s becoming harder for people to understand or safeguard themselves from the threats to the privacy of their online lives. Sometimes, the lure of sharing away that bit of super interesting information, makes us blindly ignore any kind of impact that we might have on our privacy.
In such a case, it’s very important for internet citizens to understand online privacy in a way that’s applicable to their online life. This might vary depending on the type of content one is looking at.
To address this problem, the Mozilla India community launched a “Privacy Month Campaign,” which originally started in January 2016 and is repeated every January. Why January? Because, the January 28 happens to be the International Data Privacy day, the whole month is observed as Privacy Month!
Most recently, other Mozilla communities joined the campaign to make a greater impact by sharing localised content. Some of these are Mozilla Italy, Brazil, Czech, Taiwan, Pakistan, Venezuela, Kenya and Hong Kong to name a few.
Here are the top privacy tips that we shared during this campaign:
Tip #15: Passwords are integral part of privacy. Choose them strong and long enough to defend yourselves. #privacymonth pic.twitter.com/H2f3oycybg
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 15, 2017
Tip #19: @duckduckgo for the win! Doesn’t track you. Privacy focussed. Relevant searches. Less clutter. Use it. #privacymonth pic.twitter.com/bQHuwqFdZC
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 19, 2017
Tip #14: .@torproject Browser lets you surf anonymously, leaving no digital footprint. Happy surfing! https://t.co/A6ObMtX3Wj #privacymonth
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 14, 2017
Tip #6: Ever thought what permissions your mobile apps have? Customize them for each app to limit data access on devices. #privacymonth
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 6, 2017
Use privacy-favoring chat apps like Signal(Recommended by @Snowden) https://t.co/rm3gVZOOY0 and Wire #privacymonth pic.twitter.com/VgqAMV93Zf
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 10, 2017
Tip #7: Cover device cameras and plug-in fake audio jack to prevent mic access https://t.co/A0rQ5e9JMi #privacymonth #privacytips
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 7, 2017
#Tip02– Use/Enable 2-factor authentication (2FA) on the apps you use everyday! Learn more : [https://t.co/oSAvGR0y3K]#privacymonth #privacy
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 2, 2017
Tip #5: Some defaults are good like the Private Browsing on @firefox . Here’s how to enable it https://t.co/SMuCY5e6ab #privacymonth
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 5, 2017
Tip#4: Only click on the links with a known/legit source. Look for HTTPS links.https://t.co/6NGWoDOhvt #privacymonth #Advocacy4Privacy
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 4, 2017
Tip #23: Open/unknown WiFi hotspots could be bait. Always avoid connecting to them, use your own WiFi https://t.co/CS5JCdRp9c #privacymonth
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 23, 2017
Tip #22: Searching for a really good ad-blocker? We recommend .@ublockorigin, efficient & open source https://t.co/kNOcEJEES0 #privacymonth
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 22, 2017
Tip#3:Use a separate/free disposable email ID for offers, coupons to keep your primary email from spam.https://t.co/ImQGUHTZle #privacymonth
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 3, 2017
Tip #10: @mailvelope add-one for @firefox and chrome lets you send encrypted emails without a hassle! https://t.co/YFKm8Pv613 #privacymonth
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 10, 2017
Tip #25: Enable remote wipe for your mobile devices and avoid a data disaster. Android:https://t.co/71WZFqBxZu, iOS:https://t.co/gaeOO8qVQi
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 25, 2017
Tip #28: Happy I18L Data Privacy Day! Update your Softwares! 🙂 Then share this badge using #DPD2017 https://t.co/clc3scgMf3 #privacymonth pic.twitter.com/EYnJw1djYZ
— Mozilla India (@MozillaIN) January 28, 2017
As the month of January comes to an end, Privacy Month Campaign for 2017 will also wrap up. However, let’s keep the spirit alive throughout the year by following the hashtags #Advocate4Privacy and #PrivacyMatters on social media. How can you be a part of this movement? Just share away! We look forward to changing statistics of Online Privacy, for the better, by next year. Until then, stay protected because privacy matters!
A big thank you to the amazing Mozilla volunteer community who developed this campaign!
Core Members: Ankit Gadgil, Siddhartha Rao, Mayur Patil, Vishal Chavan
Graphics Team: Biraj Karmakar, Tripad Mishra, Akshay Tiwari, Shalini Kr
Local Team: Chandan Baba, Viral Parmar, Nilima Chavan, Srushtika Neelakantam, Md Shahbaz Alam, Kamlesh Vilpura, Ronit Jadhav, Santosh Viswanatham, Vishwa Kotecha
Global Team: Daniele Mte90 Scasciafratte, Edoardo Viola, Semirah Dolan, Yuli RJ, Rein Ramirez, Odin, Willy Aguirre, Miguel Useche, Michal Stanke, Cynthia Pereira, Geraldo Barros, Dani Albarran, Hasan, Umer, Marquez John Christian
