In today’s hyper-connected world, the concept of privacy has become increasingly complex. It is a digitally obsessed global village, where we are all glued to phones, laptops, and smartwatches. Be it a data regarding our passwords, date of birth, heart rate, websites we visit, or even our wish list, every little information is stored, and ready to be sold.

While there is widespread claim of data safety, security and privacy, it is not very often shown in our actions. As opposed to the concern, we love to embrace the convenience it gives us. From saving passwords to sharing locations, accepting cookies or entering health specific information, all of it leads to us living a comfortable life with less hassle, even if it means our intricate, personal information being sold. Ironically, despite privacy concerns, we rarely read terms and conditions or think twice before hitting “accept.” This discrepancy between the expressed concern and the actual behaviour has led to breach of millions of personal data in the dark web.

Consumers, and individuals in general face this dilemma: are we willing to sacrifice personal security for seamless digital engagement? The trade-off between the need for privacy and the need for convenience is the privacy paradox we talk about. Our smart devices have become our ‘one-person’ that knows everything about us. The conveniences we get are powered by our personal data that we claim to protect. How often has it happened with you that you see a personalised recommendation for a product that you never searched for, but only has conversation about in personal chats? All this is nothing but a breach of privacy.

As this the boom period for technology development, emerging innovations like artificial intelligence, biometric data, and the Internet of Things will only make balancing more complex. This makes it even more critical for individuals and organizations to analyse their approach to data privacy. It becomes a tough ground to juggle technological advances and safeguarding personal information to navigate through this data driven world.

Recently, there has been a growing awareness regarding the risk associated with data breaches, surveillance and misuse of private information. There is a need to bridge the gap between our concerns for privacy and the final actions we take. This can be done by being vigilant of our digital habits. We need to prioritise our privacy and make informed decisions. By doing this the risks can be mitigated and we can take back control over our personal information.