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General Data Privacy Information

Your data is valuable and you deserve to have a say!

Your online activity is a treasure trove of data, anything from interests, items you purchases, health data, and online behaviors are regularly collected and monetized. You may not be able to control how each little piece of data about you and your family is collected. However, you can help minimize the data collection and manage who has access to your data.

Here are some steps you can take today:

  • Manage your Privacy Settings
  • Know the tradeoff between privacy and convenience. All manner of Apps and websites often collect personal information about their users. That data is valuable to businesses and you should think about if the service you get in return is worth the data you have to provide - especially when the service is free. 
  • Adjust privacy settings in your apps, accounts, and/or device. These should be easy to find and be quick to change. Set them to your comfort level based on the convenience the service provides. In general, it is wise to lean on the side of less sharing of data, not more.
  • Help create a culture of privacy by educating others and asking questions about privacy concerns for new services, apps, and initiatives you may be involved in. 
  • Protect your accounts:
    • Use unique pass phrases and/or complex passwords for each account - a password manager can help. Password managers are built into popular browsers like Chrome and Firefox. There are subscription password managers (1Password, Bitwarden, etc) as well as free apps (KeePassXC for computers & KeePassDX for Android and KeePassium for iPhones).
    • Turn on Multifactor authentication (MFA) if available to help prevent your account from being compromised. Never share one-time codes or allow access to your account if you are not certain where the request originated. 

Mozilla has a Privacy Not Included Guide for privacy focused reviews.

More Resources:
https://www.staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-week
https://privacy.cs.cmu.edu/cmu-privacy-day/index.html
https://www.staysafeonline.org/events/data-privacy-week-2026-webinars

Oregon Specific Resources:
https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/id-theft-data-breaches/privacy/
https://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer-protection/id-theft-data-breaches/privacy/privacy-law-faqs-for-consumers/