Let’s talk consumer protection and privacy platforms…

Recently, we had a conversation with someone who asked why trusting another consumer protection platform with their personal information is any safer than trusting, say, Google with their online privacy.

The answer is simple — Google considers the consumer the product.

A good consumer privacy or protection platform won’t want access to your private data. They won’t sell or benefit from your information in any way. That’s not what they’re about.

Instead, consumer focused software will find a way to isolate data for each customer, preventing internal or external information leaks.

And guess what?

They won’t have access to your personal data. No backend peeping toms jotting down your email and passwords with the intention of selling the info for big bucks.

Once you delete something, it disappears into the ether — never to be heard from or seen again.

Choose a platform that gives you a place where you can store, create, and access your information without oversight from “big brother,” aka big data, also known as Google.

It’s all about putting the control back in the hands of the consumer. And there’s an important reason for this…

In 2020, more than 160 million Americans were impacted by a data breach.

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If you’ve ever received one of those notifications from a credit card company, Yahoo, or even your bank stating that your information has been compromised — then you may have felt this pain.

In fact, so many of us have dealt with this casual invasion of privacy that it seems…normal.

Take a moment to really think about that.

We’ve begun to normalize the public leak of some of our most sensitive information. The passwords that control your money, mother’s maiden name, or even (and this one hits close to home) the name of your first pet.

Data is being regarded in such a casual way that people rarely realize when it’s being collected for nefarious purposes.

You wouldn’t be so casual if you treated your house keys with the same disregard as you do your personal information. The implications are frightening — and you have the right to guard your online activities with the same vigor that goes into protecting your home.

However, privacy seems like something we have to concede to in order to use the internet in the ways we’d like.

And that’s not cool.

Data compromises are NOT normal — and you deserve to feel safe when you surf the web.

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Okay — let’s ask THE question — do good consumer protection platforms even exist?

The short answer is not yet…

Unfortunately, the most advanced software designed around putting the control back in the hands of the people is still under construction (yes, we’re talking about Cloaked — hint hint).

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What can you do to join the fight for control of your online and in-person information?

First and foremost, if you’re reading this, you’ve already taken the first step on educating yourself on consumer protection (congrats on being awesome!)

Just follow us on Medium, send us some love on Facebook, and find us on Twitter and Instagram under the username: @keepitcloaked

Knowledge is power, and we’re all about empowering people.

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