November 23, 2020

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Best Privacy Practices

More online shopping means more risks! Whether you’re a customer or business owner, it’s important to take precautions when handling money online.

Every year, three frenzied days – Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday – kick off the holiday shopping season. On Black Friday 2019, “brick-and-mortar sales were up 4.2%” and “online shopping pulled in a record $7.2 billion.” The deals are usually so good that we hear of at least a handful of people being trampled in malls. (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/12/01/black-friday-shoppers-spent-more-store-online-over-weekend/4346469002/)

Due to COVID-19, this year may be quite different. Instead of families flocking to brick and mortar shops, many will hope online to find lower prices on everything from electronics to pet food and beyond. Thus, it’s vital for both customers and businesses to put online shopping best practices into action.

Best Practices for Consumers

Avoid downloading store apps. Occasionally, stores will offer an additional discount if you download their app. It may seem harmless, but this opens a door to your device and all your personal data. They may now be better able to target you with products, in the long-run costing you more money.
Be wary of deals that are out of this world. Before clicking on a website or making a purchase, ask yourself if you trust this website with your money. If you can’t verify that it’s a legitimate business, don’t make the purchase. Also, check that it’s the actual website for the business. Many scammers make copies of legitimate websites to trick people into handing over their money. Bonus: If the URL doesn’t begin with HTTPS, that’s not a secure website.
Shield your shopping from surveillance. Use Startpage to research products, read reviews, and compare prices, by doing so you prevent advertisers from targeting you with ads or serving your profiled prices. Remember online retailers have been found to charge prices ranging from 10-50% more based on a person’s IP Address location, device type, search history, and more.

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Best Practices for Businesses

Update your website to be secure. Make sure your website is offering a secure connection to your consumers. Have you or your webmaster enabled HTTPS on your site? If your URL is HTTP – doesn’t have an S at the end – then it’s not secure. For more information: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
Limit employee access to consumer data. Every time a purchase is made, consumers are trusting you with very personal data – mailing address, credit card information, email, password, and more. During the holidays, you may have new or seasonal employees. Make sure you protect your customer’s data from any threats.

Privacy pro tip: Here are some hot seasonal deals on privacy-minded products. Enjoy!

StartMail is offering 50% off an annual StartMail personal account. StartMail allows you to send password encrypted messages to anyone and create unlimited aliases. StartMail’s personal account is regularly priced at $59.99 per year. With the Black Friday discount, it’s only $29.99! For more information: https://support.startmail.com/hc/en-us/articles/360014844398-Black-Friday-2020
VPN providers like ProtonVPN and NordonVPN are also offering Black Friday deals. You can easily find free VPNs but those are heavily warned against by the privacy community. If you’re going to use a VPN, it’s recommended that you use a paid VPN from a company that doesn’t collect your data, is based in the EU, and allows you to pay with an untraceable form of payment.
ProtonVPN is offering a 50% discount on their ProtonVPN Plus + ProtonMail Plus package – regularly priced at $360. The Black Friday discount brings it down to $180. For more information: https://protonvpn.com/blackfriday
NordVPN is offering 68% off on their 2-year plan. Regularly priced at $286.80, the Black Friday discount brings it down to $89. For more information: https://nordvpn.com/pricing/

Remember to always do your research on any privacy product or service! Read the privacy policy and make sure you understand what they’re doing with your personal data. If you aren’t clear on whether they collect, store, or share your personal data, ask questions.