In the age of social media, sharing your life has become as easy as simply pressing a button. Within seconds, you can post a photo or status update about every moment of your life.
While sharing with your friends and family may sound great, social media can have repercussions you may not even realize. Most people wouldn’t consider social media and insurance claims to go hand-in-hand, but your posts can impact your policy.
You may think you’re online savvy — from keeping up with internet scams to perhaps even having cybersecurity insurance — but posting too much information on social media can have many consequences that are rarely considered. It’s a big reason why making privacy a priority is essential.
Protecting your posts and personal information is critical when using social media platforms for a multitude of reasons.
Thieves May Take Advantage of Your Vacation
Everyone looks forward to a vacation. The relaxation, the time away from work, and the fun-filled activities make vacations a great escape from everyday life.
However, when you are away on vacation, there’s a good chance your home is left vacant. An empty house can be a beacon for potential burglars.
While you may feel like you can’t wait to post every update of your trip, it’s best to be wary of sharing your current location. If your social media profiles are not private, and sometimes even if they are, sharing your vacation photos while on your trip can alert potential thieves to your empty home.
Since no one is home to raise the alarm, burglars may seize the opportunity to come in and take their time stealing your valuables and belongings. Matters can be made even worse if you post the length of your vacation, as this allows thieves to take their time without fear of you returning home to catch them.
If your home is broken into while you’re away on a trip, you will likely want to make a claim to your insurance company for stolen items. However, you may be accused of negligence if your provider sees you posted multiple photos of your trip and implied your home was vacant. Your insurance company may deny your claims on these grounds.
It’s essential to keep your social media profiles private and only allow close friends and family to see your posts while away on your vacation destination. If you want to share pictures, this is the safest way to do so on your trip.
Public Social Profiles May Affect Employment
Employers are known at times to dive into the lives of potential employees. They may want to know who they are hiring before offering someone a position.
If you share inappropriate things on your social media, post excessively about partying – even on weeknights – or have photos of illegal substances, your potential employer could choose not to hire you. They may see your social media posts as unprofessional, a sign that you will stay out late and party even on work nights, or use illegal substances.
All these findings could give potential employers a good leg to stand on when they choose not to hire you. Based on your social media, they can argue that you are irresponsible or unprofessional and not a good fit for the position.
Rather than allowing potential employers to freely view your social media, keep your profiles private. Even if you don’t share inappropriate content or post pictures of drinking excessively, you never know what post could cause an employer to rethink their job offer.
The safer choice for social media profiles is only to allow your content to be seen by your friends. This ensures that any potential employer who may feel like snooping around your profile won’t find anything to sway their opinion of you.
Public Profiles Are an Abundance of Information for Hackers
You may not think twice about sharing your birthday, children’s birthdays, anniversaries, pet names, or more on your social media profiles. It’s common for many social sites to have birthdays listed to fill out so others on your friend’s list can send you well wishes.
It’s also common to make anniversary posts, wish your children a happy birthday, and share cute photos of your furry friends on your social media pages. However, this information can be essential to keep private.
Many people use their own birthdays, pet names, children’s birthdays, or even anniversaries as their passwords and PINs. Posting this information to your social media profiles and keeping them public welcomes hackers and potentially offers them access to your important and confidential information.
Hackers can use the information you’ve posted and gain access to your accounts and personal information. With this access, they can do anything from taking over your social media accounts to using your credit cards.
It’s safer to keep your social media accounts private rather than give hackers a window into your personal information. This way, potential hackers will not be able to view posts containing potentially personal information such as birthdays or anniversaries.
Keeping Accounts Private on Social Media
Although sharing every detail of your life has become normal in the age of social media, it may not be wise to share too much personal information, especially if your accounts are public. When you leave social media profiles open to public view, you run the risk of many problems as a result.
When you post photos of your vacation while away, you can welcome burglars into your home. You may also be denied your insurance claim when you return home to stolen items due to negligence.
Public profiles welcome potential employers to view your day-to-day life. While you might think your social media posts don’t affect your possible employment, a potential employer can decide not to hire you based on your photos or status updates.
Hackers can also get plenty of information from a public profile, such as educated guesses on your passwords and PINs. Sharing personal information like birthdays, anniversaries, and pet names can open the door to potential identity theft.
Rather than allowing all your personal information to be publicly accessible, it’s best to keep social media profiles private. Only add people you personally know and trust. This way, you can ensure your information is safe and secure.
