Study guide · 2.1
Create and manage a digital identity
Your digital identity is everything that represents you online: accounts, profiles, posts and the data services hold about you. This guide explains how to manage personal data, protect personally identifiable information and keep your accounts private and secure.
A study feature written by ExamDragon, not part of the real exam. Each heading is one of Certiport's skills for this objective.
2.1.1Explain how to manage personal data online
- Personal data is any information about you: name, photos, location, interests, contacts and activity.
- Share only what a service really needs; leave optional profile fields empty.
- Review privacy settings on each account to control who can see your posts and profile (public, friends, only me).
- Check which apps are connected to your accounts and remove those you no longer use.
- Many services let you download or delete your data; delete accounts you no longer use.
- Read what a service does with your data, at least the summary of its privacy policy.
Example: You set your social media profile to friends only, hide your birthday and phone number, and remove a quiz app you once gave access to your account.
2.1.2Explain how to manage personally identifiable information
- Personally identifiable information (PII) is data that can identify a specific person, alone or combined: full name, home address, date of birth, national ID or passport number, phone number, email, bank details, biometric data.
- Sensitive PII, such as ID numbers and bank details, can lead to identity theft if stolen.
- Never send ID or card numbers by ordinary email or message unless you are sure of the recipient and the channel.
- Enter PII only on trusted sites with a secure (https) connection, and only when the purpose is clear.
- Combining small details (school, street, daily routine) can reveal more than any one detail alone.
- Shred or securely delete documents that contain PII.
Example: A form asking for your passport number to enter a free prize draw is a warning sign; you close it instead of filling it in.
2.1.3Explain how to maintain digital privacy and security
- Use a strong, unique password for each account, and a password manager to remember them.
- Turn on two-factor authentication wherever it is offered.
- Keep the operating system, apps and browser updated to fix security weaknesses.
- Lock your devices with a PIN, password or biometrics.
- Be careful on public Wi-Fi: avoid sensitive tasks, or use a trusted VPN.
- Watch for phishing: messages that pretend to be a trusted organization to steal your sign-in details.
Example: After a news report that a shopping site was breached, you change that site's password, confirm it was not reused elsewhere and turn on two-factor authentication.
Key terms
- Digital identity
- The accounts, profiles and data that represent you online.
- PII
- Personally identifiable information: data that can identify a specific person.
- Privacy settings
- Controls that set who can see your information and activity.
- Two-factor authentication
- Sign-in that needs a second proof besides the password.
- Identity theft
- Using someone else's personal details to commit fraud.
Easy to confuse
- Thinking privacy settings make posts fully private; friends can still copy or share them.
- Reusing one password everywhere, so one breach opens every account.
- Treating harmless-looking details as safe; combined, they can identify you.
- Confusing privacy (who sees your data) with security (protecting it from attack); you need both.
After this guide: You should be able to identify PII, adjust privacy settings, and list the main steps that keep accounts private and secure.