Protect Your Privacy If You Want To Reduce Your Risk

Research shows the risk to New Zealander’s privacy is on the rise but there are ways that people can protect themselves.

"Whenever we are online, our private personal information is being recorded in various ways, and often sold in ways you don’t know about" says Privacy Commissioner, Michael Webster.

"New Zealanders love the internet. But every webpage we visit, every item we put in our online shopping baskets, and every time we upload an image to social media, if we haven’t actively protected it, we are risking our personal information."

Using Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) data and combining it with information from leading digital agencies, OPC has created a report looking at five areas where New Zealanders are most at risk online.

These include:

• Online scams and frauds
• The secret costs of social media
• Online tracking
• Children’s online safety
• Emerging technologies such as biometrics and AI.

If someone’s personal information is shared or accessed online without their permission, it’s nearly impossible to regain control of what happens to it.

"With the use of internet at saturation levels, and after three years where most of us have spent more time online than ever before, our dependence on the internet has grown exponentially," says Mr Webster.

"Everybody has a right to privacy online, and the guidance in our new report can help New Zealanders be more conscious of their privacy."

The insights report on digital privacy is available on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner website.

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