The dangers of owning a social media account but never using it are as follows:
Keeping your devices safe online is essential to preventing device control or password theft. Hackers now have plenty of opportunities to launch a variety of attacks thanks to social media. However, what makes having a social media account but not using it riskier? We'll discuss this in this article.
We'll give you some tips to avoid making mistakes and properly protect your accounts. You'll notice that if you've given up on any of your social media accounts, it may be worth deleting the account or at least checking that everything is configured correctly to avoid problems.
We can give some examples, such as Facebook or Instagram. These are widely used social networks where you may have created an account some time ago but no longer use it. You may have several accounts, one of which you forgot about and never logged in to again.
- Stealing an account without being detected
The first reason is that your account can be hijacked without being detected. If you're not logged into your profile, or if you never log in, you may not be aware that hackers are using your account and impersonating you. They can contact your friends, post under your name, and so on.
To avoid this, it's always important to protect your accounts as much as possible. You can achieve this by using a unique password for each account, enabling two-factor authentication, updating your apps, etc. But it requires constant review and attention to potential vulnerabilities.
- They may be getting the data.
They may also be able to obtain information and data you have on your social media networks. For example, information about where you live, contact information, hobbies, etc. Anything you have on social media, even if you posted it years ago and don't use it now.
Again, carefully reviewing your accounts, even if you don't use them, is essential. It's important to avoid these types of problems and reduce the risk of data being compromised online.
- Spam on your profile
There are social networks where it's possible to post a comment on someone else's profile. For example, it's common to leave a message wishing them a Happy New Year. This can be used to filter out spam. It may be visible to others, even if you're unaware of it and don't delete those comments.
The same thing can happen with a photo where they can add comments, for example. It's important to monitor this and be wary of old accounts that you no longer use.
- Old posts
Another issue is old posts that may be on your profile and have never been deleted. These errors may be from many years ago and could affect third parties. For example, a photo with someone who currently doesn't want to be publicly posted on social media, information you've posted that may be problematic, etc.
Everything changes, and what may seem right at one moment may not be true in the future. Therefore, having old, problematic posts can also have a negative impact.
Ultimately, creating social media accounts you don't use may not be the best idea. It's better to delete these accounts or at least check that everything is in order from time to time.