Million Dollar Question- How Safe is Your Data?
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The new normal is all about digitisation – from Digital India to start ps propelling industry 4.0, there is no sector which isn’t impacted by technology. Are you a part of this digital ecosystem? Raise your hand if you frequently use apps such as Uber, Swiggy, Paytm, and Flipkart to access services while enjoying the comfort of your couch. We are sure that almost all of you would have raised your hands here – after all, in today’s connected landscape, who really takes the effort to go to the grocers, or hail an auto on the street or even carry cash when going out?
Our smartphone is the bridge between our requirements and on-tap service – from cabs to grocery and take-out, you can avail almost everything you need, without stepping out of your comfort zone. Add to it the fact that you have e-wallets like Paytm and Amazon Pay on your smartphone, and you are sorted! While these apps certainly afford us great convenience, do you wonder what you are giving away in return?
That is the million-dollar question here – while these apps look absolutely incongruous, sitting in our smartphones, do we really know what is at stake? Recently, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in an ET article[1], “How do we ensure that the enormous data collected by all these Ubers, Swiggys, Zomato, Ola, Paytm and all the others involved in this digital ecosystem is protected and safeguarded and adhere to privacy concerns, is going to be a matter of great interest.”
Do you remember signing up for Ola or Zomato and being required to part with personal data including your KYC, address, payment details, etc.? these apps collect and store a humungous amount of information, including your likes and dislikes, your payment history, and the routes you frequently travel on. Goyal stated, “One pressing issue as we… grow within India in digital space, is going to be cyber security and data privacy.”
Reportedly, India’s consumer digital economy is likely to surge 8-fold between 2022 to 2030, from 100 billion dollars to 800 billion dollars and, with this growth, the threat to data security is expected to multiply manifold. From fraudsters to spam callers, your data could be accessible to a variety of miscreants, and it is now time to consider measures which can boost your privacy and safeguard your interests.
Indeed, your mobile number acts as the first line of defense when considering your privacy and the best way to safeguard your data is to protect your personal number. Fraudsters can easily access all your personal details by simply entering your personal number, as it is now linked to your bank account, as well as your Aadhar and PAN numbers. Add to it the fact that your personal number acts as a direct connection to you, and it becomes imperative that you take efforts to protect it by all means possible.
Enter Doosra, a service which provides you virtual phone number in India. Doosra is aimed at enabling users to protect their data with the help of Whatsapp virtual numbers and phone numbers for companies where you do not wish to divulge your personal number. With Doosra, which brings you the best virtual phone number, you can share your Doosra Number with apps that collect data while also blocking calls classified as spam or telemarketing. Not only does Doosra safeguard your privacy, but it also protects you from the unnecessary collection and dissemination of your personal data, making it a win-win solution.