It’s 4am. Your smart-watch is incessantly beeping to awaken you from your slumber. Drowsiness is quickly replaced by excitement - time to get the family up and off to the airport to start your summer vacation! But there is an extra traveller these days that you have to take care of… your personal information!
Arriving at the airport, your family presents their passports at the ticket desk. All good. When they are given back, you make sure to protect these highly sensitive documents and secure them in a safe place as they are going to be coming out quite frequently during the trip. For heaven’s sake, don’t carry them in your teeth through security! My family’s rule is that my wife holds all the passports – she is the responsible one.
Grab a coffee, a bacon bap and log onto the Wi-Fi. Free airport Wi-Fi looks pretty good, but as a general rule in airports, avoid sending any highly sensitive information; save that for your data-plan. And while you are at it, check whether the Wi-Fi consents include marketing that has already been pre-toggled “yes”. You might want to turn that off if you are not a fan of filling up your inbox.
Phew. You made it on the plane. Your daughter asks, “are we there yet?” to which you respond “nope, haven’t even taken off”. Could be a long flight. But you have come prepared for such a situation with pre-loaded children’s movies on the iPad! Thank you, Moana. A couple of hours later you get the iPad back, but as you try to squeeze in a little shut-eye you feel the device slipping from your lap to your feet – no problem, you will gather it when you leave the plane.
You arrive at your destination and are going through immigration. As you smile for the camera you note that the photo is probably not just a warm welcome but also has facial recognition technology. If so, your smile may be compared against an enforcement database or, depending on the jurisdiction, a “no-fly list”. Hmmm, maybe stop smiling. If you are a worrier like me, you envision being pulled aside even though your latest “crime” was an overdue library book. All clean. Good for you, but you reflect on the fact that such technology can vary in its accuracy, especially for minority groups.
A hurried cab ride and you arrive at your beach hotel. Check-in is cheerful but you do wonder why the desk clerk needs a copy of your passports. You have a right to ask. It could be a legal requirement, for security reasons, or something else. You make a mental note to remind them at checkout to destroy the copies if they are not legally required to retain them.
You’ve made it to your room and are sorting out your things. Better ensure all devices are on the secure hotel Wi-Fi so that you don’t burn through data! Of course, those same security considerations apply as in the airport.
But where is that iPad?!
You rummage around your luggage and then remember that you have location tracking turned on. A quick check through the mobile and….
“There it is! Back in London?!”
Oops!
You forgot it under your airplane seat, and it has started the journey home ahead of schedule. Palm slap to the head. You jump online and fill in all the necessary lost-item forms. But don’t stop there. Go to your Apple account and mark the device as “lost”.
That not only sets up a message to call you if found but can suspend payment cards and other services for the lost device. As an extra precaution, you reset sensitive passwords and pat yourself on the back for not always using the same password. Less of a pat for losing the device in the first place.
Time to hit the beach!! Your daughter sprints into the water and is splashing about with joyful whimsy! Let’s capture that moment with a beach-soaked photo! An initial reflex prompts you to post on social media when your internal warning system screams… Sharenting Alert! How would your kid’s ‘future self’ feel about a photo being publicly shared of them getting slammed into the sand by the surf? Best just keep this gem for grandma back at home!
A glorious restful week ensues, and you make your way back home. You check at your stop in Gatwick for that mischievous wandering iPad. Nope, no sign of it. You are glad you took those precautions!
Home sweet home and sinking into the couch! Let’s do one final mental roll-call. Wife? Check! Daughter? Check! Luggage? Check, check, check. Personal Information? Mostly in check!
&
Indulge