Social Networks: How to Reconcile Personal Data Protection and Popularity?

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Social Networks: How to Reconcile Personal Data Protection and Popularity?


On social networks, only one thing indicates a person's popularity: their number of followers or friends. For people wishing to achieve some digital success, the race for subscribers is therefore daily. However, since real friends can be counted on the fingers of one hand and even while playing social butterflies in the evening, it seems complicated to reach 10,000 contacts , some accept strangers in their Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter circle. An almost banal approach on the Internet when it would seem irresponsible in real life. According to Aroua Biri, a doctor in cybersecurity, Internet users should however take the same precautions.

“It's like bringing someone you don't know into your living room and letting them sit on your couch. You don't know anything about him, but he is at the forefront of your life, your moods, etc. If this person turns out to be malicious, the consequences are manifold. “The harassment will be much stronger if the person has entered your circle. She will have more weapons and cartridges to reach you. One can also receive very shocking and pornographic photos. Even if we can remove them, it's something that marks and shocks ”, underlines the expert at 20 Minutes.

Piracy and Pedophilia

Regarding young users, there is also the risk of falling on a false profile, behind which hides a pedophile. “A 50-year-old man can very well pass himself off as a 16-year-old. By having access to the information of his potential victim, he can profile her in order to seduce her: photos, language, tastes, ”adds Aroua Biri.

The list of risks is growing if, in addition to being malicious, the stranger has good notions of hacking. Because giving access to small personal information can have serious consequences. As 20 Minutes revealed in its investigation of the Momo Challenge, a simple phone number can allow an average hacker to find an email or postal address or even an account on a social network.

Beware of Photo Metadata

The same applies to posting a photo taken with a laptop. If geolocation is enabled, the address is found in the snapshot metadata. "I've seen people post a photo of their living room with the caption" Last time we see our interior before two weeks of vacation! " », Says Aroua Biri. A burglar can find out the address of the home, what they can steal from inside, and how long they have to do it. And if it's not the stranger who robs you directly, he may well communicate the information to one of his own contacts.

Reposted on another network, the photo can keep this information ”, specifies to  20 Minutes Florence Sedes, professor of computer science at the University of Toulouse.

Cautious Popularity

However, it is quite possible to maintain certain popularity on the networks while ensuring the security of your personal data. Aroua Biri recommends creating two accounts: “An account with a nickname bringing together the 20 or 30 people closest to you and on which, in terms of comments and photos, you can let go a little more. Then a second account, where you either post carefully or give it real meaning. If we have a goal, we can better assess the sensitivity and impact of information or a photo. It's like protecting a company's data. We segment the network: sensitive information in some places, less sensitive in others. "

Small reflex to adopt before posting a photo: "desensitize" it by "removing the EXIF", that is to say, its metadata. Aroua Biri recommends the Pixelgarde tool, which is quite easy to use. Another obvious reflex, but important to remember: think about strengthening the security of your accounts by going to the settings. For example, it is possible to make an Instagram story only visible to certain people. On Twitter, you can also choose to only receive private messages from people you follow.

However, securing your data on social networks will still involve the loss of a few followers. Florence Sedes, who specializes in cybersecurity on social networks, advises at least to block spam accounts that may send malware. The latter carried out a study bringing together the main criteria to identify them. “In general, these accounts have a lot of subscriptions, but few subscribers, no profile picture and an unrepresentative name like a number for example. When he posts, there is very little text, but a lot of flirty hashtags. "You Can buy Antivirus Software to protect your pc.


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