The internet makes it easy to communicate with friends, family, coworkers, businesses, and people you have never met in person. However, sharing too much information online can create privacy and security risks.
Even information that seems harmless can sometimes be combined with other details to identify you, access your accounts, impersonate you, or target you with scams.
Whether you are using social media, messaging apps, email, online forums, or websites, it is important to think carefully before sharing personal information.
Here are some things you should generally avoid sharing with people you do not completely trust online.
1. Your Passwords
Never send your passwords to another person through social media, email, text messages, or messaging apps.
A legitimate company or service should not need you to send your account password to another person. Even if someone claims to be helping you fix an account problem, do not give them your password.
If someone needs access to an account for a legitimate reason, use the account's official sharing or account-management features when available instead of giving them your password.
2. Verification and Security Codes
Be extremely careful with one-time passwords, verification codes, authentication codes, and other security codes sent to your phone or email.
These codes can be used to confirm that you are trying to sign in, change an account setting, or complete another security-sensitive action.
If someone contacts you and asks you to send them a code you just received, do not share it unless you have independently confirmed why it is required and who you are dealing with.
3. Bank and Payment Information
Avoid sharing sensitive banking and payment information with strangers online.
This can include your online banking login details, card security information, PINs, and other information that could be used to access or misuse your money.
If you need to make a payment online, use the official website or application of the service rather than sending sensitive payment information through a private message.
4. Your Full Home Address
Your home address is personal information that does not need to be shared publicly on social media or online forums.
Be particularly careful when someone you have only met online asks where you live or requests your exact address.
If you need to provide an address to a legitimate business or delivery service, make sure you are using the company's official website or application.
5. Your Personal Identification Documents
Avoid sending photographs or scans of passports, identity cards, driver's licenses, or other identification documents to people you do not trust.
These documents can contain valuable personal information that may be misused if they fall into the wrong hands.
If an organization legitimately needs an identification document, verify the organization and make sure you understand why the document is being requested and how it will be handled.
6. Your Private Photos and Videos
Think carefully before sending private photographs or videos to someone online.
Once you send a file to another person, you may lose control over where it is stored, copied, or shared.
This is especially important for sensitive photographs, documents, or videos that you would not want made public.
7. Your Exact Location
Be careful about sharing your real-time or exact location with people you do not know personally.
Posting your location publicly can reveal where you are at a particular moment. Regularly posting information about where you live, work, study, or spend your free time can also reveal patterns about your daily routine.
Consider reviewing location permissions and location-sharing settings on your social media and messaging apps.
8. Your Travel Plans
Think twice before publicly announcing that you will be away from home for a specific period.
Posts such as "I will be on vacation for two weeks" can reveal that your home may be empty.
You can share travel experiences after returning instead of publicly announcing detailed travel plans in advance.
9. Answers to Security Questions
Some online accounts use security questions as part of account recovery or identity verification.
Information such as your pet's name, mother's maiden name, favorite team, hometown, or school may appear harmless, but sharing these details publicly can make it easier for someone to guess information associated with your accounts.
Avoid publicly posting answers that you use for account security.
10. Your Date of Birth and Other Personal Details
Your date of birth may seem like ordinary information, but it can be useful to someone trying to identify or impersonate you.
Be careful about combining your date of birth with your full name, address, phone number, workplace, or other identifying information.
You do not need to make every personal detail publicly visible on your social media profiles.
11. Information About Your Workplace or Daily Routine
Avoid sharing unnecessary details about your daily routine with strangers online.
For example, regularly posting where you work, when you leave home, when you return, and where you spend your evenings can reveal more about your routine than you may realize.
Consider limiting this type of information to people you actually know and trust.
12. Screenshots Containing Private Information
Before posting a screenshot online, look carefully at everything visible in the image.
Screenshots can accidentally reveal email addresses, phone numbers, usernames, order numbers, account information, QR codes, confirmation numbers, or private conversations.
Crop or hide sensitive information before sharing a screenshot publicly.
13. Password Reset Links
Never forward password-reset links or account-recovery links to someone else unless you are certain they are intended for that person and the situation is legitimate.
These links can sometimes allow someone to reset or access an account without knowing the existing password.
If you receive an unexpected password-reset message, go directly to the official website or app instead of clicking a suspicious link in the message.
14. Information From Private Conversations
Private conversations should not automatically become public content.
Before sharing someone's messages, photographs, phone number, or other personal information, consider whether you have permission to do so.
The same principle applies to screenshots from private chats and group conversations.
15. Information That Could Help Someone Impersonate You
Be cautious about sharing combinations of personal information that could make it easier for someone to pretend to be you.
Your full name, date of birth, phone number, address, workplace, school, and other identifying details may each seem harmless on their own. Together, however, they can reveal a significant amount of information about you.
Think about the complete picture someone could build from everything you post online.
What to Do Before Sharing Personal Information Online
Before sending personal information to someone, ask yourself a few simple questions:
- Do I know who this person really is?
- Why do they need this information?
- Could this information be used to access one of my accounts?
- Would I be comfortable if this information became public?
- Am I using the official website or app of the organization requesting it?
If something does not feel right, stop and verify the request before continuing.
What to Do If You Already Shared Sensitive Information
If you accidentally shared a password, change it immediately from the official website or app. If you used the same password on other accounts, change those passwords as well.
If you shared a verification code or information related to an important account, review the account's recent activity and security settings and take the recommended security steps.
If you shared banking or payment information, contact your bank or payment provider using an official contact method and explain what happened.
Final Thoughts
You do not need to avoid the internet to protect your privacy. The most important thing is to be selective about the information you share and who you share it with.
Passwords, verification codes, financial information, identification documents, private photos, exact locations, and other sensitive details should be handled carefully.
Before sharing anything online, take a moment to consider how that information could be used if it reached the wrong person. A few seconds of caution can help prevent much bigger problems later.
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