Do you know what a digital footprint is? No, it’s not a physical footprint in the shape of a shoe; rather, it’s a digital trail left by a large number of web users. A digital footprint is information left behind after a user has been online. Digital footprints are divided into two categories: passive and active.
Passive Digital Footprint
When you use the internet, you create a passive digital footprint, which is data you leave behind without realizing it. Your IP address, estimated location, or browsing history, for example.
Active Digital Footprint
When you purposefully submit information, you leave an active digital footprint.
Your digital footprint is your online identity and personality, and it is what distinguishes you from others. It establishes an online reputation or image based on the activities you engage in online. It is critical to be aware of this since everything placed online is permanent and cannot be removed. Where a person has been online and information has been kept in an online database, this is an example of a passive digital footprint. This can include information such as where they originated, when the footprint was formed, and the user's IP address. A footprint may also be evaluated offline and saved in files that can be accessed by an administrator.
The internet footprint is the digital trace we leave after visiting websites. These are generally referred to as "cookies," and most websites will ask you to accept cookies before allowing you to visit the site, even if you have no idea what this means. If we mistakenly put a lot of personal information online, it may be passively or actively acquired by others using a basic search engine. Security, privacy, and trust are all impacted by digital footprints, which include metadata and content. As the internet grows in size, it is becoming increasingly necessary to consider what will happen to the ownership of your images and the information you create. Remember that everything you put on the internet usually stays there, so even if you remove your postings, you will leave a trail of data behind.