Candoo Learning:
Default settings to turn off
With every tech product we use, it is important to take time to reviewthe the settings of our accounts to understand the data we share.
Here is a guide to some of the default settings that you may want to verify if it is best to keep on.
These suggestions are optional and up to you to decide which is best.
Apple Phones
Open settings on your device and tap on Privacy and Security.
- Tap on Tracking to toggle off ‘Allow Apps to Request to Track’. This tells all apps not to share data with third parties for marketing purposes.
- Select ‘Apple Advertising’ to toggle off Personalized Ads so that Apple can’t use information about you to serve targeted ads on its App Store, Apple News, and Stocks.
- Select ‘Analytics & Improvements' and toggle off Share iPhone Analytics to prevent the iPhone from sending device data to Apple to improve its products.
- Select Location Services, tap System Services, and toggle off iPhone Analytics and Routing & Traffic to prevent the device from sharing geodata with Apple for improving Apple Maps.
Windows Devices
Windows PCs come with several data-sharing settings turned on by default to help Microsoft, advertisers, and websites learn more about consumers.
Click on the Start icon on the bottom left corner of the screen. Click on the Settings icon, click on Privacy and Security, and then General.
Here’s a list that you may want to toggle off:
- Browsing history data
- Inking, typing, and speech utterance data
Google Products
Google products, including Android phones and web services like Google search, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Docs, are tied to your Google accounts. The control panel for tweaking data management is on the website myactivity.google.com. Newer versions of Androids allow people to share an approximate location rather than their precise location with apps. For many apps- like weather software- sharing approximate data should be the way to go. Precise geodata should be shared only with software that needs it to work properly, like Map apps.
Amazon’s Website and Devices
Amazon offers some control over how information is shared through its website and products like Kindle tablets, Alexa, and Ring cameras.
Two settings are highly recommended to turn off:
- Last year, Amazon launched Amazon Sidewalk, a program that automatically makes newer Amazon products share internet connections with other devices nearby. To disable it for an Echo speaker, open the Amazon Alexa app and tap ‘More’ on the lower right-hand side of the screen. Inside settings, tap Account Settings, choose Amazon Sidewalk, and toggle Sidewalk off.
- For a Ring camera, in the Ring app, tap the three-lined icon in the upper left and then tap Control Center. Tap Amazon Sidewalk, and slide the button to the off position.
Meta’s Facebook
To open Meta’s most important settings open settings on your device or web browser. Next tap on ‘Privacy checkup tool’. These are some important tweaks to prevent people outside your friend list to have access to your information on Facebook:
- Customize the list of people who can see what you share. If you want to be the only person to see the posts you share for “Who can see what you share,” select “Only me” for people with access to your friend's list and pages you follow, and select “Friends” for who can see your birthday.
- Check the “How people can find you on Facebook” list. Choose “Only me” for people who can look you up via email or phone number.
- Check the “Your ad preferences on Facebook” list and toggle off the switches for relationship status, employer, job title, and education. This way, marketers can’t serve targeted ads based on this information.
If you need help or have any questions, call us at
646-758-6606 or email support@candootech.com
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