What Are Online Privacy Issues?网络隐私问题知多少？

You might think that you won’t have to deal with any of the common online privacy issues as your e-activity is not worth tracking. All you do is browse through different websites and search engines， or post updates on social media platforms. No one could have an interest in that， right？

Wrong. That couldn’t be further from the truth！

For hackers and cyberthieves， this data that you produce is a rich type of personal information， stating more about your online activities than you might even imagine.

Battles have long raged over how third parties can access and use your data. But without the right privacy laws and with emerging technologies appearing constantly， our online privacy faces newer and more powerful threats each day. And these may have an even bigger effect than what is estimated on how your Web-based life is either protected or exposed.

Those preoccupied with what are the issues of privacy when online， ought to pay careful attention to the following 5 major threats， including：

Cookie generation

Wondering which is one of the biggest threats to our privacy？

Meet the cookies！

Cookies are fragments of information that gets saved whenever you visit a website. This information is later used by sites to customize your browsing experience and to recognize your device the next time you revisit that particular website.

Ever wondered how come you are receiving personalized ads as if someone knew exactly what you want and what you are searching for？ Well， you can definitely thank the cookies for that.

Online privacy issues caused by the hidden cookie application that monitors your browser and personal data are likely to multiply in the nearest future. Wondering why？

Because your system is liable to collect more cookies.

Five to ten years ago， in the event that you opened some specific websites in your web browser， you would get maybe a couple of cookies from advertising/marketing agents， but this would basically be it.

Long gone are those times now. With the advertising world， the entrepreneurs， and all the other information profiteers depending on cookies to spy on your identity and learn what you could be interested in shopping， the cookies are just getting bigger and stronger each day.

Online privacy issues caused by cloud data

You might love how easy it is to grab data through cloud services. But so do conduct law enforcement bureaus.

If you use email services， keep files in Google Drive， or upload sensitive information like your credit card or medical records， whatever you set up there can be retrieved by somebody else.

Unsecured location sharing

Your cell phone is the first nosy parker1， but the locations you post and share on social media sites are revealing sources， too. Showing your whereabouts got even simpler now as many people are using a multitude of location-beaming2 devices like smarter watches， Google Glasses， or car trackers.

Equipped with all this information， advertisers might （for example） send you promotions for nearby businesses， wherever you are.

Data never forgets individuals

Posting and tagging photographs online may feel like fun. But behind the scenes， it helps construct a facial recognition catalog which makes escaping notice increasingly hard for anybody.

If these social networking platforms would use this data strictly to help you find other people you know on their site， it might be okay. But once these websites start selling user information to third parties， image data might be integrated leading to serious privacy and GDPR concerns.

Social networking websites make one of the leading facial recognition databases in the world and the tremendous number of photographs uploaded to these websites cause one of the main online privacy issues surrounding this technology.

Scanning cybersecurity

You may not be a hacker， but this doesn’t mean your online activity won’t be scanned for signs of cybercrime. The federal government has made cybersecurity a high priority， as more and more concerns are raised regarding the vulnerability of the nation’s infrastructure in case of an online assault.

“Make no mistake3， everything we touch that is digital in the future will be a data source” says the IAPP4’s Hughes.

In conclusion， you might be rightfully wondering， “Is privacy dead in the online world？”

你也许以为自己无须应付任何常见的网络隐私问题，因为你的网上活动不值得追踪。你所做的无非是浏览各种网站、使用不同的搜索引擎，或是在社交媒体平台发布最新动态。没人会对此感兴趣，对吧？

不对。这与事实大相径庭！

对黑客和网络窃贼来说，你生成的上述数据是丰富的个人信息，所透露的网上活动底细之多超乎你的想象。

长期以来，对于第三方如何获取和使用我们的数据一直争论激烈。没有恰当的隐私法规，却有新兴技术不断涌现，以致网络隐私每天都面临着更新、更强劲的威胁。这些威胁对网上生活受保护或被曝光程度的影响恐怕比人们估计的还要大。

上网时会有哪些隐私问题？对此忧心忡忡的人应密切注意以下五大威胁：

缓存文件的生成

想知道我们的隐私面临的最大威胁是什么吗？

就是缓存文件！

缓存文件是访问网站时被保存的信息片段。网站此后会利用该信息为你提供个性化浏览体验，并在你下次重访该网站时识别你的设备。

你是否曾纳闷自己怎么会收到个性化广告？似乎有人确切知道你想要什么、正在搜索什么。知道吧，这绝对是缓存文件干的好事。