Websites must take privacy seriously in order to keep their users safe. It is imperative that they include some form of privacy protection to guarantee their customers’ confidentiality (Lin, 2018). Confidentiality is vital as it helps to build customer confidence in the company, thus boosting loyalty. Various popular websites will be evaluated based on privacy protection criteria. This paper will discuss five websites: Wells Fargo’s online banking service, Gmail, eBay, Google, and Amazon.
The most common method of protecting an individual’s personal information online is by using a login and password. Each user has the option of creating a unique username and password. Users must use unique usernames each time they log in, and the identification and authentication methods must be valid. If a user cannot remember their login credentials, a personal security question is used to confirm their identity. In the absence of this security question, anyone may just click “Forgot my password” and acquire a new password to log in (Lin, 2018). An unrestricted user cannot decipher a website’s encrypted data. Hence, logarithms must be utilized to protect the data and storage. A firewall is a helpful piece of hardware that keeps unauthorized people out.
Websites that place a high emphasis on privacy must provide appropriate access to confidential information in order to allow for examination and rectification. As a result, a website must take all reasonable steps to safeguard sensitive information collected in the course of doing profiling on users’ browsing habits (Lin, 2018). When it comes to protecting customers’ private information, sensitive information, such as financial and medical details or customer orientation and sexual preferences, are not allowed to be collected by websites that respect privacy protections (Stepanek, 2020). Such website also complies with legislation prohibiting the sale or rental of user data to third parties.
Customers’ private details are safeguarded by the use of various privacy protection systems on company websites. Firstly, a secure email may be utilized in two situations: when it is in transit and while being stored on an email server. There are a number of technical solutions that can prohibit illegal access to email for the sake of privacy (Stepanek, 2020). In addition, emails are encrypted, thus preventing any hostile groups from accessing the contents.
Secondly, to avoid calls to ad servers, which push both pop-p and pop-under, an organization may use the Pop-up blocker, which is an extremely significant function. The advertising is therefore left behind. It also prevents third parties from downloading pictures from the website because of the pop-up blocker. As a result, pop-up blockers are quite helpful in protecting one’s privacy. Thirdly, cookie managers may be utilized to preserve consumer privacy by encoding and securing the confidential information they provide through online forms or e-commerce from being accessed by anybody other than the intended recipient.
Fourthly, when it comes to protecting private information, a business should employ policy generators. Every website owner, including bloggers, should have a privacy statement that encourages visitors to create trust and confidence in the site. Every website must also provide a privacy statement in accordance with regulations (Stepanek, 2020). A policy generator will put a website in a greater position to establish such a policy automatically, thereby enhancing the privacy protections of a website’s visitors and owners.
According to Gmail’s list of privacy features, the device or browser being used by the user can be identified via cookies and other similar technologies. As a result, this data is protected by encoding. Additionally, the website has an SSL certificate, which is used to encrypt the services provided by the site (Lin, 2018). A privacy protection generator is also included, which creates the privacy statement per the legislation on data protection. Furthermore, the organization employs cutting-edge technology to ensure the safety of its customers’ data. As a result, Gmail remains one of the top data-protection websites.
It is no secret that Amazon is a massive e-commerce platform, and as such, it has access to a multitude of information on its users, including the products they browse and purchase as well as the shows and books they consume. Customers are the primary source of data for Amazon. User accounts need customers to provide personal information such as a username, password, email address, and phone number. There are some instances in which Amazon will ask for customers’ credit card information, their receivers’ addresses and phone numbers, and their Social Security or driver’s license numbers. There are other types of data that Amazon collects from customers, including IP addresses, browser and operating system versions and time zones, plug-in versions, and versions of the browser. These cookies allow Amazon to recognize a user’s device each time they visit the website, giving tailored ads and product suggestions as well as saving items in a user’s shopping cart between sessions. All of this assures that the consumer’s data is safe from hackers and viruses.
As users interact with Google’s services, Google collects information about them, such as what they search for and how often, and the content they create. In order to improve their services, such as providing directions on Google Maps or watching a film on YouTube, Google collects information about what their clients are doing when using their services. When an individual signs up for a Google account, they save their name, email address, and password for future use. When one uses Google services, they are able to access all of their photographs, videos, and documents at any given time. They also provide their choices about how they acquire and use their data. Google does not share an individual’s personal information with advertising unless they give them permission.
It is possible to adjust the advertisements one sees depending on their interests and the searches they have made using the Ads Settings tool. Often, an individual’s data is not private if it is not protected. Because of this, when one uses Google services, they are secured by one of the world’s most comprehensive security infrastructures. With Google Safe Browsing, which safeguards over a billion people, one gets warned whenever they attempt to access an untrusted website. Encryption protects one’s data as it travels between the computer and Google’s servers. Gmail security shields an individual from spam, phishing, and viruses better than any other email provider.
They and other authorities carefully guard the personal information that eBay receives. To ensure compliance with privacy laws and regulations, eBay uses a “policy generator.” In addition, they employ technological and administrative safeguards to prevent illegal access to data by cybercriminals (Lin, 2018). Additionally, the data centers are protected by firewalls and data encryption. However, as a result of many litigations against eBay for data leaks to other second parties, eBay’s customers have lost faith in the company.
Online bank Wells Fargo employs data encryption to safeguard data as it travels from the company’s system to the customer’s. To ensure the security of customer data, Wells Fargo only supports browsers that adhere to the highest possible encryption standards. The website features a policy generator that generates policy statements for the website in order to comply with the legislation on privacy protection. The website uses cookies to identify which browsers or devices are being used. After then, the data is scrambled and safeguarded. When it comes to protecting your personal information, Wells Fargo is among the finest in the business.
When consumers are informed of the information-collecting procedure used by network marketers, they should be able to decide whether or not to engage in profiling (Lin, 2018). Privacy-conscious websites must make their users’ personal information available to them in a way that allows for scrutiny and repair (Stepanek, 2020). The data collected by a website for profiling should also be kept private and protected from unauthorized access, loss, modification, misuse, and destruction (Lin, 2018). Customers’ financial, medical, and sexual orientation data, as well as their social security numbers and other private information, are not collected by websites that prioritize privacy. All information collected by these websites is kept strictly confidential and is not made available to any third parties for any reason.
Increasing traffic to the website by showcasing more regional material with local actors and in their native tongues will play a vital role in improving the analyzed websites. Due to the hefty membership rates compared to other OTT platforms, it is possible that the platform is built to draw a huge audience. Many people may sign up if the monthly charges are reduced. As an added benefit, including a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the website will help viewers better understand what to expect when signing up for a subscription.
References
Lin, R. L. (2018). Perceived Quality Factors of Location-based Apps on Trust, Perceived Privacy Risk, and Continuous Usage Intention. Behaviour & Information Technology, 36(1), 2-10.
Stepanek, M., Green, H., Rosenbush, S., Zegel, S., & Hof, R. D. (2020). Weblining. Business Week.