Key Takeaways
- Most platforms default to settings that favour data sharing over user privacy.
- Location history, ad personalisation, and third-party app access are among the highest-impact controls to review.
- Reviewing connected apps and permissions regularly reduces your exposure to forgotten data-sharing agreements.
- Email and cloud accounts often hold sensitive data but receive less privacy attention than social platforms.
- Small, deliberate changes compound into meaningfully stronger privacy over time.
Summary
18 items · 30–60 minutes
Why Default Settings Rarely Work in Your Favour
When you create a new account — whether it's a social media profile, email service, or cloud storage platform — the default privacy settings are usually configured to maximise data collection and platform engagement. That's not a conspiracy; it's simply how most advertising-supported services are designed. The result is that millions of people share far more data than they realise, often because they never revisited the settings page after signing up.
This checklist focuses on the controls that have the most practical impact: the ones that limit third-party access to your data, reduce profiling for advertising, and shrink your overall exposure if an account is ever compromised. If you're new to this territory, our plain-language privacy glossary is a solid starting point before you dive in.
You don't need to lock down every setting — the goal is informed, deliberate choice rather than maximum restriction.
Platform Settings Menu
The primary place to find and adjust privacy, data, and ad personalisation controls on each account.
Account Activity or Security Dashboard
Available on most major services; shows recent logins, connected apps, and stored activity data.
Device Operating System Privacy Settings
Controls location access, app permissions, and ad tracking at the system level, covering all installed apps at once.
Password Manager
Helps you maintain unique, strong credentials for each account reviewed in this checklist without memorising them all.
How to Use This Checklist
Work through each category in one sitting or spread it across sessions. Settings menus vary by platform and may be updated by providers at any time, so treat these as directional guidance rather than exact step-by-step instructions. When in doubt, search your platform's help centre for the specific setting name.
Revoking Access Does Not Delete Existing Data
Removing a third-party app's access to your account stops future data collection but does not automatically delete data that app has already gathered. If data deletion matters to you, check the third-party app's own privacy settings or submit a data deletion request directly to that service. Our overview of your general data rights explains what requests you may be able to make under applicable privacy frameworks.
For households with children, the stakes are higher — platforms marketed to adults may be accessed by minors, and children's services carry their own data considerations. See our companion piece on privacy issues specific to children's online activity for focused guidance.
Social Media Accounts
Email Accounts
Cloud Storage and Productivity Apps
Device-Level and Account-Wide Controls
After the Audit: Building on What You've Done
Checking these settings once is valuable, but privacy controls can drift as platforms push updates and introduce new features that reset or expand permissions. Build a habit of reviewing the most important categories — connected apps, location access, and ad personalisation — every few months.
Account security and account privacy are closely linked. Strengthening one reinforces the other. If you haven't already set up two-factor authentication, our walkthrough on getting started with two-factor authentication covers the process without the technical headache. Similarly, strong, unique passwords for each account limit the damage from any single data breach — why a long passphrase often beats a complicated password explains the reasoning plainly.
If you use mobile apps heavily, reviewing permissions at the operating system level complements everything in this checklist. Our guide to what mobile app permissions actually mean breaks down camera, location, contacts, and more.
Settings Can Change After Platform Updates
Major platforms periodically introduce new features that may reset certain privacy preferences or add new data-sharing options that default to 'on.' After any significant app or platform update, it's worth a quick check of your key settings to confirm nothing has changed without your knowledge. This is especially true for ad personalisation and location access controls.