These days, data privacy has become almost ubiquitous. Nearly every browser has a built in password manager, for many apps, two factor authentication has become the norm, not an outlier.

While people are getting smarter about how they share they data - and technology has made it easier - these practices aren't commonplace. That's part of the goal of Data Privacy Day, to raise awareness about the importance of data privacy and how individuals can best protect their personal information.

Now an international event, Data Privacy Day got its start in the US and Canada more than a decade ago in 2008; the holiday was designed to mirror a special date in Europe, the first time a legally binding international treaty regarding privacy and data protection was signed. That treaty, Convention 108, also known as the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (CETS No. 108) was signed on January 28, 1981 in Strasbourg, France.

Since 2008, Data Privacy Day has served as an annual call to action to people to make an effort to understand and be aware of how their data is shared online. To that end, we're sharing seven general data protection tips every user can take if they’re not already to ensure their personal data is kept safe.

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