Digital footprint

What is a Digital footprint?

• A digital footprint is an impact you create on the Web through your online activity, which incorporates browsing, interactions with others, and publication of content. 
• In other words, it can be considered as the data trail – intentional and unintentional - you leave behind while you surf the Web or Internet. 
• Digital footprint or digital shadow refers to the trail of data left behind through the utilization of the Web or on digital devices.
• The digital footprint of any person can have a positive as well as a negative impact on him.

How Digital Footprints are Created-

Find some of the examples of digital footprints:

• Visiting Websites And Online Shopping
•  Online Searching 
•  Posting on Social Media, blogs, etc.
•  Online Image and Video Upload 
•  Communicating Online (Ex:- Chat, Email, etc.)
•  Any activity you perform Online etc.

Types of digital footprints-

Following are the two types of digital footprints:

Active digital footprints:- Active digital footprints are those data trails that a person leaves intentionally on the Web. 

Ex:- Twitter, blog posts, Facebook, social network connections, image and video uploaded on Internet, phone calls, email, and chats are among the ways people create active digital footprints.

Passive digital footprints:- This suggests that a passive footprint would be defined as the unintentional traces of data that an individual creates on the Web.

Ex:- Website visits and actions, searches, and online purchases are among the activities that add passive data traces to a digital footprint.

Positive and Negative Digital Footprints

Positive digital Footprints:- 

That reflects your Positive Personality.

• Increased opportunity
• Higher profits
• Less risk
• Gentler treatment

Negative digital footprints:- 

Things that reflect your Negative Personality sort of a drunken photo, a silly comment, logging on to an inappropriate website.

• Fewer Opportunities (like Admission, Job, etc.)
• Negative Personal Image

How digital footprints can affect you?

1. Privacy Issues: Digital footprints are a privacy concern because they're a group of traceable actions, contributions, and concepts shared by users. They are often tracked and may allow internet users to find out about human actions.
2. Cyber Vetting: where interviewers could research about the applicants before the interview based on their online activities on the Web.
3. Target advertisement: It is used by marketers so as to seek out what products a user is curious about or to inspire ones' interest during a certain product that supported similar interests.
4. Less/More Opportunities depends upon your Positive/Negative Digital Footprints.

How can you manage your digital footprint?

Though it is not possible to fully hide your digital footprints, you can follow some of the given techniques to manage your digital footprints.

1. You can search your name on different search engines and they provide you facilities where you can set up an alert for future notifications when your name searched online
2. Have different email addresses, so professional and private accounts aren't automatically related to each other
3. You can change privacy settings on social media accounts where you do not make more things public. But you should not trust them completely because your data is still with those platforms.
4. Exercise caution altogether our activities, and refrain from oversharing

Built Positive Digital Footprints-

Since it is hard to not have a digital footprint, it is in one’s best interest to create a positive one.

It is beneficial for you !!