Ada Chung Lai-ling

Opinion | When you shop or browse online, know that your personal information isn’t really safe

Social media and online shopping platforms collect a significant amount of personal information and even share it with third parties. The growing risks of data leaks and fraud should force companies to offer better protection

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The prevalence of online shopping means data security is more important than ever. Think twice before giving away your personal information. Photo: Shutterstock

Ada Chung Lai-ling

Published: 8:15am, 6 Sep 2023

Globally, the use of different social media and online shopping platforms is experiencing a meteoric rise. According to Forbes, the number of social media users worldwide has hit a record high of 4.9 billion this year, and it is expected that almost 21 per cent of retail purchases this year will take place online.

The prevalence of online services, however, comes with data security risks that cannot be overlooked. According to a report released by the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre in May, during the first quarter of the year, there were more than 5,000 data security incidents in Hong Kong, 2,804 of which were phishing attacks.

With the proliferation of cybersecurity threats, as evidenced by data scraping (which involves the extraction of data, including personal information, from the internet using automated processes) and the ransomware attacks to which numerous multinational companies have fallen victim, the ever-growing complexity of the digital landscape calls for a more cautious approach to data security and the use of online services.

In today’s digital era, it only takes the touch of a finger to purchase groceries online, like a post, or share your live location, in a matter of seconds. However, almost every tap or swipe performed during those actions involves giving away your personal data, such as your browsing history, purchase transactions and, sometimes, credit card details.

This data is valuable, allowing online companies to provide you with personalised content and advertisements. As you go about your daily routine, you may be sharing more personal data than you realise.

In a recent report, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data compared the privacy settings of 10 online shopping platforms and found that all of them tracked users’ activities, including their location information, browsing history, transaction history and device information.