Protecting Your Privacy: The GDPR Principles and Tools for Data Subjects

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation that was passed by the European Union (EU) in May 2018 to protect the privacy of EU data subjects. The regulation applies to all organizations that process personal data of EU citizens, regardless of where the organization is based. The GDPR sets out several principles that organizations must follow to protect the privacy of data subjects. In this article, we will discuss the GDPR principles and why they are important for data subjects. We will also cover some of the technologies that data subjects can use to protect their privacy.

GDPR Principles

The GDPR sets out several principles that organizations must follow when processing personal data of EU data subjects. These principles are:

1. Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency: Organizations must process personal data lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner.
2. Purpose limitation: Personal data must be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.
3. Data minimization: Personal data must be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed.
4. Accuracy: Personal data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
5. Storage limitation: Personal data must be kept in a form that allows identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed.
6. Integrity and confidentiality: Personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.
7. Accountability: Organizations are responsible for complying with these principles and must be able to demonstrate compliance.

Why GDPR is Important for Data Subjects

The GDPR provides data subjects with a number of important rights, including the right to:

1. Access their personal data and obtain a copy of it.
2. Have their personal data corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete.
3. Have their personal data deleted in certain circumstances, such as when it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
4. Object to the processing of their personal data for certain purposes, such as direct marketing.
5. Restrict the processing of their personal data in certain circumstances.
6. Receive their personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller without hindrance.
7. Withdraw their consent to the processing of their personal data at any time.
8. Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if they believe their rights have been infringed.

Data subjects have the right to know what personal data is being processed about them, who is processing it, and for what purpose. They also have the right to request that their data be deleted or corrected if it is inaccurate. These rights give data subjects more control over their personal data and help to protect their privacy.

Technologies to Protect Privacy

While the GDPR provides data subjects with important rights, there are also several technologies that they can use to protect their privacy. Some of these technologies are:

1. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): A VPN is a service that encrypts internet traffic and routes it through a server operated by the VPN provider. This can help to protect the user’s privacy by hiding their IP address and encrypting their internet traffic. However, it is important to note that VPNs only protect data between the source and the VPN provider, and not traffic from the VPN provider and the desired website. Also, some VPN providers keep logs and may provide information to governments or sell user data. Therefore, it is important to do some background research on the provider before using their service.
2. Password Vaults: Password vaults are applications that store passwords in an encrypted format. This encourages users to use strong, unique passwords for each service they use, which can limit the risk of a data breach impacting more than one service. Longer and more complex passwords may not be in known password lists and would take excessive time to crack.
3. Email Alias Services: Email alias services such as SimpleLogin can enhance the capabilities of password vaults by providing unique email addresses per service. This provides additional benefits as an email address would only be used on a single service, making it impossible for cyber criminals to identify and exploit multiple accounts linked to the same email address. Using email aliases can offer identity protection, as a unique email address may leak less information about the user than their main email address which might contain identifying information such as their name.
4. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security measure that requires a user to provide two forms of identification before accessing an account or service. This can include a password and a fingerprint, a password and a code sent to the user’s phone, or other combinations of authentication factors. 2FA can help to prevent unauthorized access to an account, even if a user’s credentials have been exposed in a breach.
5. Encrypted Messaging Apps: Encrypted messaging apps such as Signal, WhatsApp, and Telegram use end-to-end encryption to protect the user’s messages from interception and unauthorized access. This means that only the sender and the recipient can read the messages, and not even the app’s developers or the service provider can access the content of the messages. Encrypted messaging apps are particularly useful for protecting sensitive information, such as financial or medical data.
6. Privacy-Focused Browsers: Privacy-focused browsers such as Brave and Mozilla Firefox offer features such as built-in ad-blockers, anti-tracking technologies, and cookie control. These features can help to protect the user’s privacy by preventing third-party tracking and blocking targeted advertising.
7. Privacy-Focused Search Engines: Privacy-focused search engines such as DuckDuckGo and StartPage do not track the user’s search history or store personal data. These search engines use their own algorithms to provide relevant search results without collecting data about the user’s online activity.

Practical Steps to Improve Privacy

In addition to using the above technologies, there are also some practical steps that data subjects can take to improve their privacy:

1. Be Informed: Data subjects should be informed about how their personal data is being collected, processed, and used. They should also be aware of their rights under the GDPR and how to exercise those rights.
2. Limit Data Sharing: Data subjects should limit the amount of personal data they share online, especially on social media platforms. They should also avoid sharing sensitive information such as their address, phone number, or financial data.
3. Use Strong, Unique Passwords: Data subjects should use strong, unique passwords for each service they use. They should also consider using a password vault to store their passwords in an encrypted format.
4. Check Privacy Settings: Data subjects should regularly check the privacy settings on their social media accounts, email accounts, and other online services. They should ensure that their personal data is not being shared with third parties without their consent.
5. Use Two-Factor Authentication: Data subjects should use two-factor authentication whenever possible to protect their accounts from unauthorized access.
6. Use Privacy-Focused Technologies: Data subjects should consider using privacy-focused technologies such as VPNs, encrypted messaging apps, privacy-focused browsers, and privacy-focused search engines to protect their online privacy.
7. Be Skeptical of Emails and Messages: Data subjects should be skeptical of emails and messages from unknown senders or those that ask for personal information. They should verify the authenticity of the message before responding or providing any information.

Conclusion

The GDPR provides data subjects with important rights and protections, but there are also several technologies and practical steps that they can take to protect their privacy. VPNs, password vaults, email alias services, 2FA, encrypted messaging apps, privacy-focused browsers, and privacy-focused search engines can all help to protect the user’s online privacy.

It is important to be aware of the limitations of these technologies and to take practical steps to improve privacy, such as being informed, limiting data sharing, using strong, unique passwords, and checking privacy settings. By taking these steps, data subjects can have more control over their personal data and protect their privacy online.