Using digital services securely – How can I protect my privacy?

This concept is clear to everyone, but it is something that is quickly forgotten: Your account on social media and with many email providers remains active unless you log off. Anyone who has access to your terminal can read your emails, or post content using your accounts.

Deactivate the tick box next to "Stay logged in" and never save the password in the browser.

Logging off is particularly important if you are using someone else's device. You never know who else might have access to it and might then use your Facebook account in your name.

Set up all your online accounts in such a way that other users see as little of your data as possible. You should check the security and privacy settings on all accounts, including Amazon and Google.

Strict privacy settings on social media can offer protection against digital violence, but can also have drawbacks including less visibility, and the risk of becoming socially isolated. It is important to strike a balance which allows you to be protected whilst making full use of social media.

Portals providing technical information on how to protect minors from harmful media can help with checking the settings of technical devices. By way of example, the website "Medien Kindersicher" provides a guide that can also help those affected by digital violence. The explanations on how to change the security settings on your phone are easy to understand.  

Some Meta products, such as Instagram and Facebook, offer privacy and/or security checks which are built into the app. These checks are designed to help users control and adjust their privacy settings.

These checks can be found in the settings section (often behind three dots or three lines on the profile page) under the "security" or "data protection" headings.  

Secure passwords can prevent your accounts from being hacked. People who know you shouldn't be able to guess it. Don’t use the names of pets or birthdays or “password1”! Never use the same password for different accounts. If you use secure and unique passwords, you don't have to change them regularly. Change them if you think someone else might have the password. Here are tips for secure passwords (in German).

Secure passwords can be created and managed with a password manager. This vastly increases security. You only need to remember the password for the password manager, and can retrieve the other passwords via the password manager. One program we recommend which also works on smartphones is KeePass. More information about KeePass is available here (in German).

Many apps have access to your smartphone's GPS data. In your smartphone settings, you can customise which apps are allowed to access your location and which are not. For apps that do not work without location sharing, you can select the "Allow only when using the app" option.

Two-factor authentication (or two-step login) increases the security of your accounts against unauthorised access. It can be particularly useful in violent relationships, during/after break-ups and in other dangerous situations. You can find more information about two-factor authentication here.