How to browse online safely: our 2021 safety tips

Cybercriminals are working hard each day to steal your information and that of big companies with a view to tarnish their reputation. For that reason, you must be careful when browsing the internet even with your smartphone.

Many applications use the location data of your phones to study your everyday online activities in order to track you. It is therefore important to take a close look at the privacy and security of Android and iOS.

On the other hand, taking a few simple steps such as sorting out apps and installing a VPN can keep your laptop secure.

Organize your applications

Start by removing applications that have not been used for several weeks, or even months. These are the benefits. The first one is that it improves the performance of your phone, freeing up some space and reducing your data consumption. The other benefit is that it will give you a better idea of who is doing what on your phone.

On Android, go to Settings> Applications> Selection of the application to uninstall. It is also possible to directly uninstall the applications on the home screen by long-pressing its icon, then choosing the Uninstall option. On iOS, you must also keep your finger pressed on the icon of an application, then select the small cross that appears on the left.

Limiting sharing your location

The next step after removing unnecessary apps is to limit location sharing. On Android, you can limit location sharing with all applications in order to maintain some control over your privacy via Settings> Connections> Localization or via the permissions granted to each application. On iOS, this is always done app by app, via Settings> Confidentiality> Localization service.

Reduce ad tracking

As you did with location sharing, advertising tracking by third-party applications is also one of the points to keep in mind when you want to properly manage your privacy and security on Android and iOS.

Each user thus has an automatically generated number, or advertising identifier, which is sent to different advertising platforms or applications to better target their potential customers. In order to limit the use of your data against your own will and at the same time to reduce the relevance of these advertisements, it is possible to change this number regularly.

On Android, go to Settings> Google settings. Here, first, choose the Reset advertising identifier option, then the Disable interest-based ads option. On iPhone, this is done in Settings> Confidentiality> Advertising, before choosing the Limited Advertising Tracking option.

Install a VPN

The next mobile security tip is to install a Premium VPN on all of your devices. These paid options allow you to enjoy the best possible protection because they are constantly updated according to the evolution of threats. It is also possible to enjoy a promo on a VPN subscription to be protected without paying the full price.

Install a password manager

We continue on the road to mobile security by optimizing our passwords. The trick here is to use a password manager that keeps them like a wallet. Each password can thus be different and random, it suffices to remember its master key which allows entry into its database. Convenient to manage your professional and personal accounts in complete safety.