As spring cleaning season arrives, cybersecurity professionals suggest extending that fresh start mentality to your electronic devices and digital accounts.
This digital decluttering goes beyond simple organization – removing unused accounts and forgotten files can safeguard your personal information, according to security specialists.
“Clutter is fuel for scammers. Old accounts, exposed data and forgotten apps give them more ways in,” said Michael Sherwood, a product vice president at cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes. “Cleaning up your digital life is one of the simplest ways to shrink your attack surface in a threat landscape that’s getting smarter, faster, and more automated.”
Here’s what experts recommend for your digital cleanup:
Constantly running low on phone or computer storage? Those accumulated photos, videos and downloaded files consume significant space over time.
Limited storage capacity can slow device performance and block critical system updates. Most devices include built-in tools to help users manage storage.
iPhone users can navigate to Settings, then General, followed by iPhone Storage to view remaining space and identify which applications consume the most room. Android users can find similar information under the Storage section in settings, with options for manual or automatic cleanup.
Both Windows and Mac computers offer comparable storage management tools in their settings to pinpoint space-consuming files.
Transfer important documents to external drives or cloud services, then remove them from your primary device.
Email inboxes typically overflow with notifications, receipts, newsletters, statements and security alerts – many remaining unopened. Mixed among these may be personal messages worth saving alongside spam requiring deletion.
Organizing this chaos can improve productivity and concentration, with strategies to streamline the process.
Filter messages by size to identify the largest emails – typically those with hefty attachments – for removal. Sort by sender or date to eliminate outdated correspondence or bulk messages from frequent senders.
Consider unsubscribing from newsletters and mailing lists you no longer read.
Review phone applications and remove those you’ve stopped using.
However, don’t overlook the associated accounts. If deleted apps required account creation, log in and permanently close those accounts. Otherwise, your stored information remains accessible to potential hackers.
“Every dormant account is an open door. Scammers actively target abandoned logins because no one’s watching,” Sherwood explained.
Ensure remaining applications are current by checking for updates. Apply the same principle to your device’s operating system, installing the latest software patches for optimal performance and security.
Security professionals recommend examining your presence across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and other social platforms.
The goal is to “review what personal info is out there and limit what apps and services can access,” Sherwood noted.
Examine privacy settings for each platform and consider removing older posts.
“Limiting what personal information is publicly available helps to reduce the risk of falling victim to cyberattacks such as phishing and identity theft,” said Chad Thunberg, chief information security officer at cybersecurity company Yubico.
Remember those convenient “sign in with Facebook” or “use your Apple account” options? What about smart home devices requesting Google account access?
Review which external applications and services connect to your primary accounts. Disconnecting unnecessary links enhances online privacy.
When checking Google account settings under “Third-party apps & services,” one user discovered only three active connections, all still needed.
Facebook settings revealed 18 connected services, though all but one had expired. The remaining active connection – a forgotten photobook service with access to name and profile photo – was promptly removed.
Strengthen security by evaluating your password management.
Enable multi-factor authentication across accounts if you haven’t already.
Consider adopting passkeys, which Thunberg describes as a “modern login standard” offering superior security compared to traditional passwords. Passkeys function like digital key-and-lock combinations that only work when properly paired. Major platforms including Google, Amazon, Facebook and eBay now support this technology.
Passkeys require fingerprint, face scan or PIN verification, meaning “they cannot be faked, intercepted or replicated by AI-based attacks,” Thunberg explained.
Password managers can store passkeys if you’re not currently using one. Apple, Google and Samsung provide built-in password management, while third-party options include 1Password, BitWarden and Nordpass.
Even without passkeys, password managers remain essential for tracking login credentials. Best practices involve unique passwords for each account, preventing hackers who breach one service from accessing others. However, memorizing multiple complex passwords proves impossible.
“A password manager not only generates strong, unique passwords for each account, but also ensures users never have to remember them all,” Thunberg concluded.
