The cost of losing control over your personal information has never been higher. The average U.S. data breach now costs organizations $9.36 million, while online scammers swindled Americans out of $10.3 billion in 2022 alone. The FBI processes an average of 758,000 cyberattack complaints annually, and threats are evolving faster than ever.
Modern cybercriminals deploy AI-generated phishing emails that fool even security experts, create deepfake voice scams that mimic family members, and weaponize social media data to build detailed profiles for identity theft. As Data Privacy Week 2025 emphasizes "Taking charge of your data," protecting personal information requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses both traditional and emerging threats.
How to protect your personal information: 10 proven ways
1. Enable multi-factor authentication everywhere
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) keeps your data safe even when passwords are compromised. This security layer requires additional verification beyond your password, making accounts exponentially harder to breach.
Implementation steps:
- Turn on MFA for all financial, email, and social media accounts
- Prefer authenticator apps like Duo Mobile over SMS verification
- Use security keys for the strongest protection
- Enable MFA on backup email accounts and recovery options
SMS codes create an attack vector through SIM swapping—criminals convince carriers to port your number to their device, intercepting authentication codes. Authenticator apps eliminate this risk by generating time-based one-time passwords locally using cryptographic algorithms. Hardware security keys take this further, using public-key cryptography that makes phishing attempts mathematically impossible rather than just difficult.
2. Use strong, unique passwords with a password manager
Password reuse creates cascading security failures. When one account gets breached, criminals test those credentials across banking, email, and social media platforms. Strong, unique passwords for every account eliminate this risk.
Password best practices:
- Create passwords 12-16 characters long with mixed characters
- Use unique passwords for every single account
- Consider passphrases for memorable yet secure options
- Store credentials in reputable password managers like 1Password or Keeper
- Never reuse passwords across different services
Password managers use cryptographic entropy to generate truly random passwords while maintaining encrypted vaults that sync across devices. They perform continuous breach monitoring, flagging compromised credentials and identifying dangerous password reuse patterns across your digital footprint. The mathematical reality here matters: each additional character increases cracking difficulty exponentially—a 12-character password might take centuries to break via brute force, while a 16-character version pushes that timeline into heat death of the universe territory.
3. Opt out of data brokers and people-search sites
Duke University research reveals that data brokers collect thousands of data points on individuals, creating detailed profiles sold to businesses, government agencies, and potentially criminals. Personal details from these databases fuel identity theft and synthetic identity creation.
Data broker removal strategy:
- Identify major data broker sites collecting your information
- Use automated removal services or manually opt out
- Monitor for re-listing and submit removal requests regularly
- Focus on high-impact brokers like Spokeo, WhitePages, and BeenVerified
- Document removal confirmations for tracking purposes
Data brokers operate sophisticated aggregation engines that scrape public records, monitor social media APIs, and purchase transaction datasets from retailers and financial institutions. These operations create persistent surveillance challenges—removing your information triggers automated re-collection algorithms that rebuild profiles from alternative data sources and newly formed partnerships. The unfortunate reality—economics favor the brokers: manual opt-outs cost you time while their automated systems scale effortlessly.
4. Limit social media oversharing and adjust privacy settings
Identity thieves mine social media for security question answers, location patterns, and personal details used in sophisticated attacks. Information posted today can compromise your security years later when criminals piece together data from multiple sources.
Social media security measures:
- Avoid posting birthdays, hometowns, pet names, and family details
- Never share real-time location information
- Set all accounts to private where possible
- Regularly review and update privacy settings
- Consider what posts reveal about routines and vulnerabilities
Social media algorithms encourage oversharing, but criminals use seemingly innocent details to bypass security questions and build convincing phishing attacks. Review old posts periodically to remove information that could be weaponized.
5. Keep software and devices updated
Cybercriminals exploit known vulnerabilities before companies can push fixes to users. Software updates often contain critical security patches that close attack vectors actively used in the wild. Regular updates are essential to protect personal information from evolving threats.
Update management strategy:
- Install updates immediately when available
- Enable automatic updates for operating systems and apps
- Update browsers, plugins, and security software regularly
- Replace devices that no longer receive security updates
- Monitor security advisories for critical vulnerabilities
Delayed patching creates a dangerous asymmetry: security researchers publish their findings in academic papers and vulnerability databases, essentially providing criminals with detailed attack blueprints. Meanwhile, automated scanners continuously probe the internet for unpatched systems, turning software updates into a race between your IT department and opportunistic attackers. The irony is brutal—the longer you wait to update, the easier you become to find and exploit.
6. Practice AI safety and limit data sharing
AI systems learn from user inputs, potentially incorporating your sensitive information into training datasets accessible to other users or bad actors. Personal information shared with AI tools can resurface in unexpected contexts. AI safety practices are increasingly important as we learn how to protect your personal information in the age of artificial intelligence.
AI safety protocols:
- Never input names, addresses, birthdates, or financial details into AI tools. Always sanitize PDFs that contain such information before uploading them to LLM apps
- Avoid sharing passwords, account numbers, or sensitive documents
- Read AI privacy policies before using new services
- Be cautious of AI-generated phishing attempts using your writing style
- Use AI tools with strong privacy commitments when possible
The data persistence problem runs deeper than most people realize. When you upload documents containing personal information to ChatGPT or Claude, that data becomes part of their permanent training corpus—there's no delete button for machine learning datasets. These models can later regurgitate fragments of your sensitive information in responses to other users, creating unintended disclosure risks. The frustrating part is that you can get identical analytical value by redacting personal identifiers before upload. Remove names, addresses, and account numbers, then ask the AI to analyze patterns, trends, or compliance issues. The model delivers the same insights without your personal data becoming permanent digital artifacts in someone else's training pipeline.
7. Secure your browsing and Wi-Fi
Unsecured connections expose all transmitted data to interception. Public Wi-Fi networks are particularly dangerous because anyone can monitor unencrypted traffic or create fake hotspots to steal credentials.
Connection security checklist:
- Verify HTTPS and lock symbol before entering sensitive information
- Avoid banking or shopping on public Wi-Fi networks
- Use VPN services on public networks for encrypted tunneling
- Enable WPA3 encryption on home Wi-Fi networks
- Create separate guest networks for visitors and smart devices
Fake Wi-Fi hotspots with names like "Free Airport WiFi" trick users into connecting to attacker-controlled networks. Criminals monitor these connections to steal passwords, emails, and financial information transmitted without encryption.
8. Secure document handling with proper redaction
Basic PDF editors and highlighting tools don't permanently remove sensitive information. Data remains recoverable using simple techniques, creating compliance violations and privacy breaches when documents are shared. Proper document handling is crucial to protect personal information in business and legal contexts.
Professional redaction requirements:
- Use specialized redaction software for sensitive documents
- Ensure permanent removal of data including hidden metadata
- Verify redaction completeness before sharing documents
- Understand compliance requirements for your industry (HIPAA, FOIA, GDPR)
- Train staff on proper redaction procedures
Improper redaction has led to major privacy disasters where sensitive information was recovered from "redacted" documents. Professional redaction tools completely remove data from files rather than simply covering it with black boxes that can be removed.
9. Practice data minimization
Collecting and storing unnecessary personal information creates liability without benefit. Data minimization reduces attack surfaces and complies with evolving privacy regulations that require limiting data collection to specific purposes.
Data minimization principles:
- Collect only minimum data necessary for specific purposes
- Regularly delete old files containing personal information
- Avoid storing sensitive data without clear business need
- Be selective about information provided to apps and services
- Review data retention policies and cleanup procedures
Many jurisdictions now legally require data minimization practices. Organizations face penalties for excessive data collection, and individuals benefit from limiting personal information exposure across multiple systems and services.
10. Use separate phone numbers for banking and sensitive accounts
SIM swapping attacks target phone numbers used for two-factor authentication on financial accounts. Criminals port phone numbers to their own devices, intercepting authentication codes to access banking and investment accounts.
Phone number segmentation strategy:
- Use dedicated numbers for financial and critical accounts
- Keep separate numbers for general calling and casual signups
- Secure Google accounts with hardware keys if using Google Voice
- Understand that some banks don't accept VoIP numbers for 2FA
Separating critical account access from everyday phone use limits exposure to SIM swapping attacks. If criminals compromise your main number, financial accounts remain protected by the separate authentication number.
Keep protecting your personal information in 2025
Personal information protection requires consistent application of multiple security layers rather than relying on single solutions. The threat landscape continues evolving with AI-powered attacks and sophisticated social engineering, but these ten ways to protect your personal data provide comprehensive defense against current and emerging risks.
Start with multi-factor authentication and password managers for immediate impact, then systematically implement additional protections based on your risk profile and threat model. Regular monitoring and maintenance ensure these protections remain effective as both technology and attack methods continue advancing.
Professional document handling deserves particular attention as organizations increasingly face compliance requirements and privacy regulations. Try Redactable for free to see how proper redaction protects sensitive information with permanent data removal rather than simple visual masking.
