Simple Ways to Clean Up and Secure Your Digital Life

A cluttered digital life wastes your time and can feel quite overwhelming. But even more alarming, it risks your privacy, security, and even money. Many people have hundreds of screenshots in their gallery, unemptied trash, and even apps they are paying for that they forgot existed.

If your device has become a digital junk drawer or you reuse passwords because you don’t use a password generator, you are exposing yourself. You are either affecting your device’s performance or opening the door for attackers.

Luckily, there are simple ways you can clean up and secure your device before it becomes a problem.

Clean up accounts and strengthen access

Start by looking at the accounts you’ve created over the years. It could be shopping sites, apps, subscriptions, and social media platforms you no longer use. Each account that you’ve ever created is a potential entry point for hackers, especially if it uses an old or reused password.

Delete every account you no longer need, and update the passwords for the ones you keep. You can use a password generator to create strong and unique passwords that are difficult to guess or crack.

Take control of your apps, updates, and permissions

Your phone and computer are likely filled with apps you downloaded “just to try” and never touched again. These apps can still access your data in the background. Go through your apps and uninstall anything you don’t use.

Additionally, you should check the permissions for all apps on your device. Does that flashlight app really need access to your location or contacts? Probably not. Many apps use permissions to collect your data, such as location, call logs, and even personal files.

Some apps may even request excessive permissions, such as an “always on” microphone or camera, which can be used by malicious parties to record your conversations and spy on you. By allowing apps only the necessary permissions, you significantly reduce the risk of data breaches.

Additionally, you should try to keep your apps and devices up to date. Updates allow developers to fix known vulnerabilities before nefarious actors can exploit them.

Declutter your files and storage

A cluttered digital home life is just as stressful as a cluttered home. But since it isn’t physical, it’s easier to ignore. Cleaning up your digital life is generally simple. All you need to do is go through your files and delete everything that’s no longer useful.

Go through your gallery and delete duplicate photos, clear your overflowing inbox, and sort your documents to ensure sensitive data like medical forms and credit card statements isn’t easily accessible. One way to prevent this is to avoid storing these documents on the devices you carry every day.

After you’re done, empty the trash to make the files harder to recover if the devices fall into the wrong hands. Additionally, you should create an organizational scheme with clearly labelled folders for your files so that you can find everything quickly.

Watch out for everyday threats

Cyber threats don’t always look obvious. They can come from emails that look legitimate, links that look harmless, or a popular app that you’ve downloaded and installed on your device.

Avoid installing apps from unknown sources, and if you have to, pay closer attention to avoid fake APKs. You should also avoid accessing sensitive information, such as your email or banking account, on public Wi-Fi. If you must, consider using a VPN for protection.

Back up what matters

Lastly, you should back up all your important files. This way, you lose nothing if your phone gets lost. You should do this proactively and not just once. Imagine you have a presentation at work and your computer crashes. Or you’re due to submit your term paper or thesis, and just like that, all your hard work is at risk of being lost.

This is why back-ups are important. You can use either cloud storage or external storage, or even both. If possible, automate the process to ensure everything you need is always backed up without manual intervention.