English Vocabulary for Internet Privacy
When you sign up on a social app like TikTok or use an AI chatbot like ChatGPT, you’ll likely see a message about privacy and permissions.
Many people don't take time to read these messages, but they contain important information about your data and rights.
In this article, we'll explain common English vocabulary about personal data you should know when using online platforms.
Important English Words for Internet Privacy
Cookies
Online, cookies are small text files placed on an internet browser. These cookies allow sites to remember user settings, but they're also used as marketing tools.
Press the red button to accept all cookies or the blue button to accept only the necessary cookies.
Consent
"Consent" means "agreement," and it can be both a noun and a verb, as you can see in the examples below.
Your use of this site indicates your consent to our terms and privacy policy.
Click AGREE to consent to our use of cookies.
Preferences
"Preference" is the noun form of "prefer."
On websites and in apps, preferences are personal settings that control how you interact with the platform.
If you don't want to receive message notifications, you can change the setting in your preferences.
Under the Preferences tab, you can control things like who can see your posts or send you private messages.
Toggle
"Toggle" is a verb that means "to switch between two positions."
Click the button to toggle Silent Mode on or off.
Opt-in / Opt-out
"Opt" is a more formal way to say "choose."
When you opt into or opt out of a service, you're choosing whether or not you want to participate.
All users will receive our monthly newsletter unless they opt out in the settings menu.
If you want your prompts to help train our AI model, you must opt in by toggling the button under Preferences.
Track/Tracking
When you're online, sites can "track" — or follow — you between sites by using technology like cookies.
A
I did a search for shoes last week, and now I'm seeing lots of ads online for sneakers.
B
That's because you're being tracked.
Related Daily News lesson: Our Devices May Collect More Data than They Need
Retention period
The retention period is how long a site keeps — or "retains" — information it receives from users before destroying it.
Each organization has different retention periods; some will only keep user data for as long as they need to to provide a service, while others may hold it for much longer.
Online identifier
Online identifiers are pieces of information, such as usernames or location data, that can be used to identify particular users.
Some businesses use online identifiers to track user behavior across the internet.
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Targeted advertising
Traditional advertisements, like billboards and radio commercials, are designed to appeal to many different kinds of people.
But online, companies use user data to send targeted ads, or ads carefully sent to specific groups of people based on their information and online history.
Companies can send targeted ads to users based on sites they've visited or posts they've liked on social media.
Related Daily News lesson: Instagram to Charge UK Users $4 a Month for No Ads
Transparency
If something is transparent, you can see through it. So "transparency," the noun form, refers to something that is clear and easy to understand.
Politicians are demanding that platforms be more transparent in how they collect and use their customers' personal data.
Terms and Conditions often aren't very transparent, and many users never read them carefully.
Data breach
Sometimes organizations are attacked by hackers who steal important, sensitive information. These situations are called "data breaches."
The massive data breach exposed the personal information of thousands of users.
Training
"Training" often refers to physical practice for things like sports, but it's different when discussing AI; the technology used in chatbots is trained on — or learns from — data it receives from users or other sources online.
Many artists are livid that their work is being used to train AI image generators.
Wrap-up
If you want to protect your information online, it's important to understand the privacy messages that appear when using popular apps and sites.
The good news is that the same words often appear all across the internet, so once you learn them, you'll be ready the next time you see them.
Don't forget to book a lesson with an Engoo tutor to practice with this vocabulary in a real chat!
