Change These 15 Default Settings To Increase Your Internet Privacy [1]

From Facebook to Amazon, here are 15 default settings you can change to provide a little more privacy on the internet.

Larger internet corporations collect a lot of data on individuals. Changing just a few default settings can help stem the tide. This article covers how to change the default changes in Facebook, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple. These changes aren't hard to make and can help curb some of the data that these companies gather.

I've also rounded up a list of privacy focused apps and browser add-ons that can provide additional protection from tracking, block malware, and remove ads. (Gizmo's Freeware is run by volunteers and relies on ads to pay the bills and keep the lights on. You can help out by adding us to your whitelist)

Hands off my data! 15 default privacy settings you should change right now [3]

Browser Add-ons/Extensions:
Here's a brief list of add-ons (in no particular order) that work on Firefox and Chrome based browsers, though some also work with Safari and several have mobile apps. Note the list is current now but the update cycles on browsers are frequent so they may change. If you use Opera, and want to use extensions from the Chrome Web Store, here's how to install Chrome extensions in Opera [4].

HTTPS Everywhere [5]
Provided the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) HTTPS Everywhere encrypts your communications with many major websites. It rewrites requests to websites to HTTPS, making browsing more secure.

uBlock Origin [6]
UBlock Origin is a wide-spectrum blocker. It blocks ads and tracking mechanisms from malware sites. It also does a good job of keeping up with and blocking sites that deploy bitcoin mining. It's also one of the few extensions that work on Microsoft's Edge browser. Direct links to the browser extension are here because uBlock Origin is hosted on Github and a little hard to figure out how to install:
Firefox [7] based browsers
Chrome [8] based browsers
Microsoft Edge [9] browser

Disconnect [10]
Encrypts all of your Internet traffic, masks your IP address, prevents wireless eavesdropping, blocks over 5000 invisible trackers and sources of malware, inside both browsers and apps, and allows you to search anonymously on Google, Bing, and Yahoo, and more

Ghostery [11]
Gives you control over ads and tracking technologies to speed up page loads, eliminate clutter, and protect your data. Similar to uBlock Origin.

Social Disconnect Plus [12]
Social Disconnect Plus removes all social media contents on web-pages (i.e. the Facebook like button and other widgets) that are used to track your movements across the internet.
 

You can find more Tech Treats here [13].