A short YouTube explainer by Caitlin Sarian defining "digital footprint" as the trail of data you leave online (e.g., IP addresses, browsing history, texts, precise location). The speaker lists types of collectors — apps (health, fitness, maps, social media) and websites (via cookies, pixels, tags) — and signals forthcoming advice on reducing one’s digital footprint.
So what is your digital footprint and why does it matter? It's the trail that you leave when you're using the Internet. Some examples of a digital footprint are IP addresses, browsing history, text messages, precise location. Anything that you've ever done on a phone, like an app or on the website, is part of your digital identity. Who is collecting this? Well, any apps. So for example, healthcare apps, they're collecting your health information, your personal information, they're collecting maybe step count. If you're talking about Nike or Peloton, they're collecting what types of workouts are doing. Location. Apps like Google Maps are collecting your precise location and where you're going. Other apps like social media, that collects exactly what you're doing and who you're doing it with. And remember, it's not just apps that collect this. Websites collect this too through cookies, pixels and tags. Examples of like website tracking is what you're buying and when you're buying it, who you're buying it for, where it's being shipped along. If you want to learn how to decrease your digital footprint.
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