So What Is a Digital Footprint?

"A digital footprint is the data that's left behind whenever a person uses a digital service, or someone posts information about that person onto a digital forum, such as a social network. Everyone is likely to have a digital footprint, and this is normal." - NPSA 2023

Your Digital Footprint:

Your digital footprint is essentially an online trail that you are leaving behind following your online activity, whether it be social media posts or comments, online purchases, internet surfing and more.

Everyone seems to know the term digital footprint through its trending use on Twitter, TikTok and popular platforms amongst young adults. But what significance does it have and what can you do about it?

The online world is a vast space that's only getting bigger as we soar into the future, which means that your online activity will always stick around and could come back to bite.

A rude comment or an inappropriate video posted online could just be sniffed out by your future employer. That dodgy streaming service you used for the latest movie could just lead to a virus with one wrong click.

There are so many ways in which you contribute to your digital footprint, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, not knowing what makes up your digital footprint isn't the right way forward.