Protecting Your Data Amid Rampant Global Privacy Breaches
Are you a frequent user who logs in to Meta companies Facebook and Instagram on a daily basis? Are most of your business and personal conversations conducted through the ubiquitous messaging platform WhatsApp? If you answered yes to either of these questions, and we are sure almost all of you must have, then you would want to know this news. Earlier in November, Ireland's data privacy regulator found social media major Facebook liable for a breach of privacy and imposed a 265 million euro ($277 million) fine on the company. And this is not the first instance when Meta companies have been caught flouting rules and regulations. In fact, Ireland has now fined parent Meta a total of about 1 billion euros, for various data privacy breaches by its companies like Facebook and Instagram.
Data Privacy Concerns
The penalty comes in the aftermath of Ireland discovering a collated dataset of Facebook personal information which was available online and the regulator has now pushed the company to start taking corrective measures to remedy the situation. If you thought the data you shared with online companies is safe, you need to rethink your stance. Data protection and privacy is not a new topic – it has been under the focus of global governments since the last few years. India has also been taking decisive steps towards curtailing the misuse of personal data but all of these actions take time. And time is of the essence when it comes to protecting your privacy.
Why Do You Need to Protect Yourself?
How often do you give out your personal number without worrying about the consequences? Have there been times when you shared your number with a supermarket, only to see yourself start getting countless spam calls right after? If you think that sharing your number is nothing major, you should think back to all the data points that are linked to your personal digits. From your bank account and wallets like Google Pay and PayTm, to your Aadhar card, PAN card and your ATM card, every important part of your life is linked to your personal number. In many cases, details like your address and your workplace may also be linked to your number, along with your social media handles. And, when you give out your personal number, you allow miscreants the ability to access and hack into each and every one of these places.
What are Companies and Regulators Doing?
While it is true that all data collecting companies, like Meta and your supermarket, promise privacy, that is not always the case. Many companies sell your phone number and data to telemarketing and fraud organisations, and, if you are not careful, you may find yourself getting caught in these webs. Yes, WhatsApp does promise you end-to-end security on your chats and calls but, haven’t there been cases of data leaks from these and other major companies? As we head into a world that is powered by data and hyper-personalisation, your data is a source of targeting for various companies and, some of these companies could be out to fleece you. Therefore, while you wait for companies and regulators to take steps to protect you, you should also be on guard and understand how you can protect your own personal data, starting with your contact number.
Virtual Numbers Can Be a Solution
Imagine if you had access to a secondary mobile number that you could share with companies like Zomato, Dunzo, Uber, Westside, etc. This virtual phone number would help you gain all the benefits and details, like OTPs as well as delivery calls, while also ensuring that these companies have no access to your personal number or the data attached to it. Wouldn’t that be a very simple way to get rid of the risk while ensuring convenience? After all, we cannot give up the comfort of the digital ecosystem to protect our privacy. Now, with virtual numbers, you can enjoy the best of both worlds and also utilise features like call block and call verification.
Doosra Virtual Numbers to the Rescue
Doosra is a virtual sim card provider in India. Armed with Doosra’s second phone numbers, you can share your contact details with anyone and everyone, without worrying about it coming back to trouble you in the future. You can now give your Doosra virtual sim card number to Zomato and Uber, get your deliveries and your cab, and also avoid getting on the list of spammers and fraudsters. What better way is there to safeguard your privacy? Just apply for a virtual mobile number from Doosra and bid goodbye to all the tension caused by having to share your personal number at countless places. Also block out telemarketers and spam calls at the click of a button. Privacy was never this easy!