Last weekend was when we finally got our one hour back (for those of us still observing Daylight Savings Time [DST] in the US). Instead of sleeping in, though, we are barraged with public service announcements and reminders to spend that hour taking care of things that otherwise get ignored. That fire alarm battery isn’t going to change itself! Like #DataSpringCleaning, the end of DST is a great opportunity to take care of privacy-related things that we’ve been putting off since spring.
What are some things you can do with the reclaimed hour from DST?
- Choose and sign up for a password manager – If you’re still on the fence about choosing a password manager, check out our post about the basics of selecting a manager. Once you get past the inertia of selecting a password manager, switching to a password manager becomes a smoother process. Instead of switching all your accounts to the password manager at once, you can enter the account information into the manager when you sign into that specific account. Using the password manager’s password generator, you can also use that time to change the password to a stronger password. And while you’re logged in…
- Set up multifactor authentication (MFA) – You should really turn on MFA if you haven’t already done so for your accounts. Use a security key (like a YubiKey) or an authenticator app for MFA if possible; nevertheless, the less secure versions of MFA – SMS and email – are better than no MFA. Read about MFA on the blog if you’re curious to learn more about MFA.
- Review privacy and security settings for social media accounts – Social media sites are constantly adding and changing features. It’s good to get into the habit of checking your social media account settings to make sure that your privacy and security settings are where you want them to be. Another thing you might want to check is how much of your data is being shared with advertisers. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have account setting sections dedicated to how they use your data to generate targeted ads.
Your library also has a reclaimed hour from DST. What can you do at work with that reclaimed hour?
- Review the privacy policy – It never hurts to review the privacy policy. Ideally, the privacy policy should be updated regularly, but sometimes even having a review schedule in place doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the review actually gets done. If the policy missed its regularly scheduled review, it might be worthwhile to push for the overdue review of the policy to ensure the policy’s alignment with current professional standards, codes, and legal regulations.
- Check your department or team procedures against the privacy policy – Your department work procedures change regularly for various reasons, such as changes in technology or personnel. These changes might take these procedures out of alignment with the current privacy policy. Relatedly, an update to the privacy policy might need to be reflected in changes to the procedure. Review the two sets of documents – if they’re not in alignment, it’s time to set up a more formal document review with the rest of the department. Now is also an excellent time to set up a schedule for reviewing procedures against the privacy policy (as well as privacy-adjacent policies) on a regular basis if such a schedule doesn’t already exist.
- Shred paper! – Take time to look around your workspace for all the pieces of paper that have sensitive or patron data. Do you need that piece of paper anymore? If not, off to the office shredder it goes. Grab a coffee or a treat on your way back from the shredder while you’re at it – you earned it ☕🍫
We won’t judge you if you ultimately decide to spend your reclaimed hour sleeping in (or changing that fire alarm battery). Nevertheless, making a habit of regularly checking in with your privacy practices can save you both time and trouble down the road.