The financial data to personal conversations, it’s crucial that our private data remains secure. One way to protect your privacy is by using strong passwords for any files, documents, or messages you want to keep private.  Choosing the right password is essential to properly secure your private data. A weak, easy-to-guess password leaves your information vulnerable to hacking. However an overly complex password can be difficult to remember and manage. The key is finding a balance – a password that’s strong enough to provide good security but still practical enough for you to use consistently.

Make a strong password

When creating a password for your private data, there are a few key characteristics that make a password stronger and more secure:

Length

Longer passwords are harder to crack. Aim for at least 12 characters, but longer is better. The extra length makes it much more challenging for hackers or password-cracking software to guess your password correctly.

Complexity

Use a mix of different types of characters – uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols or punctuation marks. Avoid simple words or phrases that are easy to guess. The more varied your password, the stronger it is.

Uniqueness

Don’t reuse passwords across different accounts or services. what is private message? If one password is compromised, reused passwords also become vulnerable. Unique passwords keep your other accounts safer. Consider using a password manager to help you generate and organize strong, distinctive passwords.

Randomness

Truly random passwords – with letters, numbers, and symbols in no predictable order – are the most secure. Avoid sequences, repeated characters, or keyboard patterns as these make passwords easier to crack. Use a password generator tool to create a random password. A password manager app can generate completely random passwords for you and securely store them. This is the easiest way to create and use strong, distinctive passwords for each of your private data needs.

Protecting your private conversations and text messages

In addition to files and documents, it’s also important to keep your private online conversations and text messages secure. Here are some ways to do that:

  1. Use end-to-end encrypted messaging apps like Signal or WhatsApp when communicating sensitive information. This scrambles messages so only the recipient can read them.
  2. Enable disappearing message features that automatically delete messages after a set period. Apps like Signal, Telegram, and Wickr have this option.
  3. When sending sensitive information by normal text, delete the messages from your phone after the recipient has read them. Don’t leave them in your message history.
  4. Turn on phone screen lock features like fingerprints, face IDs, or passcodes to prevent others from physically accessing your messages if they have your device.
  5. Set messages and conversations to private in apps like Facebook Messenger so they are not visible to anyone else. Be wary of sending personal or sensitive data over unprotected services like normal SMS text messaging.