Data Privacy Day 2026: 4 ways to reclaim control of your personal data

Today, January 28, is Data Privacy Day 2026. Part of Data Privacy Week, the day aims to raise awareness of the dangers posed to our data online and promote actionable steps you can take to protect your online privacy.

Whether it's beginning to adopt safer data privacy practices or subscribing to one of the best VPNs, everyone can begin to secure their personal data.

With 4.6 billion people affected by internet censorship in 2025 and threats to our privacy coming from the UK, US, and Europe, it can feel like the walls are closing in.

But it doesn't have to be like this. We can say no, and we can push back against excessive personal data collection. I've highlighted four things you can do this Data Privacy Day to better protect yourself and your personal information online.

Subscribe to a VPN

As a VPN writer, it's unsurprising this is the first recommendation on my list. When you connect to a VPN, your data is encrypted and your internet traffic is hidden from your internet service provider (ISP) or any other third-party who may be spying on you.

If you're new to VPNs, they can seem overwhelming – but there's no need to worry. Tom's Guide can help you find the VPN that's right for you. Whether you're after the most private VPN, the fastest VPN, the best cheap VPN, or even the best free VPN, we have you covered.

You can spend a little or a lot on a VPN, it's up to you. You can subscribe to some really great VPNs for under $2 per month. Surfshark and PrivadoVPN are two of our favorites. If you've got more to spend, you can subscribe to premium plans which often include extra cybersecurity features. Both ExpressVPN and NordVPN offer plans costing $6 per month.

We rate NordVPN as the best VPN for most people, but every VPN we recommend is safe, secure, and full of usable features.

It's worth noting that you often pay for a VPN upfront. Two-year deals work out at the cheapest price per month, but one-year and one-month plans are also available. Almost all leading VPNs have at least a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can see if a VPN is for you without any financial risk.

I will caveat this by saying not everyone needs a VPN. But if you regularly browse the internet, stream movies, or connect to public Wi-Fi, a VPN should be part of your online arsenal.

VPNs are privacy tools, not silver bullets. Subscribing and connecting to a VPN won't automatically protect you from every online threat out there. You can still be hacked and you can still be identified via certain online activity – such as logging into personal social media accounts. VPNs don't make you anonymous. But they do protect your data and often come bundled with extra cybersecurity features. They're a great place to start if you're looking to protect your data privacy.

Make use of extra cybersecurity tools

VPNs aren't the only privacy tools available to you. Password managers, secure cloud storage, antivirus, and threat protection are all out there too – and many come bundled in VPN subscriptions.

Ensuring your accounts are securely protected with a strong password is an easy, yet often overlooked, way of protecting your data privacy. The best password managers generate and store complex passwords for you, immediately boosting your account security.

NordVPN has NordPass, ExpressVPN has Keys, and Proton VPN has Proton Pass, but there are numerous password managers out there.

VPN companies are expanding their offerings beyond just a VPN, so you can subscribe to complete cybersecurity suites if your budget allows. Threat Protection Pro will protect you against ads, trackers, and malware and it's included in all NordVPN plans from NordVPN Plus and up. You'll also benefit from up to 1 TB of secure cloud storage and, if you're US-based, NordProtect ID theft protection. ExpressVPN boasts a similar array of features in its ExpressVPN Advanced and ExpressVPN Pro plans.

Norton VPN and Surfshark both include dedicated antivirus protection, with the former including AI-powered scam protection.

We'd still recommend the best antivirus software over bundled VPN antivirus, and you don't have to purchase a VPN bundle – all these features can be acquired separately. But if you want ease of use, it's good to know that almost every VPN provider now bundles at least one extra cybersecurity feature in its plans.

Understand the risks

How can we protect our data privacy if we don't understand the risks we face? The internet has developed rapidly in recent years and scams, risks, and threats to your data have developed with it.

Hackers are far more sophisticated than they used to be so it's important to remain extra vigilant. Double-check any suspicious or hidden links. Never give out your passwords, and always enable two-factor authentication. If something doesn't feel right or seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The danger isn't just from hackers, it can be from companies too. Get used to reading privacy policies and understanding what data is being collected. Big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and TikTok profit from collecting and selling your data. Always reject cookies and consider using secure browsers like Brave or Vivaldi that put your privacy first.

Always opt-out of any data collection you can and make sure to reject cookies. It's easy to quickly click "Yes" or "I agree" but taking a few extra seconds to reject this data collection can be crucial to protecting your privacy.

Data brokers purposefully collect our data to sell it to advertisers. Data removal services such as Incogni contact these brokers on your behalf and request your data is deleted. These services can be useful for reducing spam and combating targeted advertising.

Be aware of what you're signing up for, who is collecting your data, and how it's being used. Educating ourselves and improving basic data privacy practices can make huge, fundamental differences to our online experience.

Move away from big tech

This step is likely to be the hardest for most people, but could also be the most significant. Big tech companies effectively run our lives and know almost everything about us.

A hefty majority of people will have an Apple or Samsung phone, work on a Microsoft or Apple computer, and have accounts on Meta's social media apps. All our shopping is done on Amazon and we search for things on Google. Of course, this won't apply to everyone, but for millions or even billions of people, this handful of companies is intrinsically embedded in our daily lives – and our data is there for the taking.

However, there are alternatives to these companies, especially when it comes to services on the internet. Proton, the team behind Proton VPN, offers an entire ecosystem capable of challenging Google. There's Proton Mail, Proton Drive, Proton Calendar, Proton Pass, and Proton VPN. Like Google, you can sync and integrate its apps across all your devices and everything is end-to-end encrypted. Proton isn't set up to profit from your data, it protects it. All these apps have a free version, but you can subscribe to the premium versions with Proton Unlimited for $9.99 per month.

As mentioned above, secure browsers remove trackers and cookies from your browsing experience. Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi are popular choices but many exist.

It's hard to not use an Apple phone or Microsoft computer. But if you are using one, follow all the steps mentioned in this article and protect as much of your data as you can. Be vocal about the importance of data privacy and help educate others. Data privacy is a right, and it's time we regained control of our personal information.