How To Destroy Data

 

- Yip Jieying

After the recent Facebook data scandal where the social media giant was accused of failing to protect their users’ profiles from being accessed by third-party companies, we all know this: nothing is truly confidential in this day and age. And that includes, yep, your private data. Sure, digital data privacy is all that’s on people’s minds these days (seriously, how many e-mails about updated privacy policies have you received?). But that’s not the only way your privacy is put at risk. “If I go to a spa and the staff asks for my IC number, I’d think, ‘Why do you need my IC for a spa session?’ It is within your rights to ask for a valid reason as to why a company might need your IC details,” says Duncan. Oh, and since Singapore’s so safe, we might be, gasp, too complacent. “In the UK, the government tried to hand out ICs and everyone flipped out ’cos they think Big Brother is watching them,” Duncan explains. “[The Brits] are generally more careful with their personal data — I once got my credit card cloned at a supermarket in London — but in Singapore, the crime rate is low so people are more relaxed.” He shares five ways you may be compromising your data privacy, and it doesn’t even have to involve a Facebook exposé.

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