3 Tips for Protecting Your Privacy while Working on the Go

Working remotely gives you the freedom to choose where you spend your day. Bringing a laptop to a trendy cafe in Highland Park or holing up for three hours in a Panera with unlimited coffee refills is the joy of freelance writing. However, protecting your privacy might seem to depend on finding the right location. A quiet café or a less crowded coworking space can feel more private than a busy public setting, but surroundings alone don’t determine how private your work remains. Even a quiet co-workspace can create a false sense of security if you assume that privacy comes with the location.

A more useful approach is to consider what other people can observe or access, wherever you choose to work. Here are three practical ways to protect your privacy while working on the go.

*This piece is a collab between EatDrinkLA and Proton VPN.

Connect Safely to public Wi-Fi

When you use public Wi-Fi, use a VPN to encrypt your internet connection to limit what the network operator can observe. Without that protection, the operator may be able to see which websites your device connects to, even when the content of those connections is encrypted. In case you didn’t know, a VPN is a virtual private network that creates a secure “tunnel” between your device and the internet.

For example, if you use an Apple computer while working from a café, you might download a reputable free VPN for Mac. Because a VPN encrypts traffic between your device and the VPN server, it’s harder for the café’s network operator to identify the websites you visit.

You can browse and work online without giving the local network operator the same visibility into your connections, which is pretty sweet.

Lock your device whenever you step away

Lock your device whenever you leave it unattended, even for a short break. An unlocked laptop can let someone nearby open your documents or use accounts you’ve already signed into.

How many times have you been working at a coffee shop and stepped away to collect your order, leaving your laptop behind with its screen locked? If you’ve enabled automatic screen locking on your laptop, it can lock itself after a period of inactivity, requiring authentication before someone can access your open work. 

With your device locked, a quick coffee break no longer leaves your accounts and documents readily accessible. Honestly, I’ve even gotten into the habit of always closing the screen when I step away. Making authentication necessary for anyone who tries to open it.

Keep prying eyes away from your screen

If you truly want a sense of privacy while working on the go, you have to limit how much sensitive information other people can see on your screen. Someone nearby may be able to read a confidential document simply by looking over your shoulder. And writer’s block can lead to a lot of wandering eyes.

Next time, use a screen privacy protector on your laptop while working in a busy coworking space. These filters narrow your screen’s viewing angle, making text harder to read from the seats beside you.

You can continue working in a shared space while reducing the chance that someone nearby reads your documents.

Final thoughts…

Protecting your privacy while working on the go means paying attention to what other people can see or access. 

Before your next work session away from home, consider who could observe your online activity or reach your information. You’ll have a clearer idea of which exposures to address before you start working, which leads to priceless peace of mind.