The City of San José is proud to celebrate international Data Privacy Week, January 26-30, 2026, by helping residents take greater control of their personal information online. 

Protecting your data doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Small actions can make a big difference. Below are three simple steps you can complete in under 20 minutes to strengthen your privacy and reduce the risk of misuse of your personal data. A few steps today can keep your personal information safer tomorrow. 

Three quick ways to protect your data (in under 20 minutes!): 

• Tell data brokers to delete your personal information via the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) hosted by the California Privacy Protection Agency. DROP is available to all California residents. After you verify your eligibility, create your profile, and submit your DROP request, data brokers will have 90 days to delete your personal data.*  

• Consider freezing your credit reports at each of the three major credit bureaus. Prevention is much easier than recovery – a credit freeze restricts access to your credit report so that cybercriminals cannot fraudulently open new lines of credit under your name. There’s no cost to place or lift a credit freeze, and it doesn’t affect your credit score. Note that when placing a credit freeze, no one can pull a credit report, including yourself. To allow credit reports to be pulled, you can schedule a temporary lift of the credit freeze. For step-by-step information on how to activate and manage a credit freeze, visit the USA.gov website. For more information about credit freezes, visit the Federal Trade Commission website.

• Configure the privacy settings on your smartphone. If you have an iPhone or an Android phone, you can turn on enhanced privacy settings to safeguard your sensitive data. Key settings include activating two-factor authentication, disabling ad tracking, and enabling stolen device protection. For step-by-step guides on how to configure privacy setting on your smartphone, iPhone users can visit https://ssd.eff.org/module/how-to-get-to-know-iphone-privacy-and-security-settings and Android users can visit https://ssd.eff.org/module/how-to-get-to-know-android-privacy-and-security-settings.  

These are small actions that you can complete in just 20 minutes to take control of your personal data online. Spending a few minutes to complete these steps can significantly improve your online privacy and reduce the risk of fraud. The City of San José remains committed to protecting residents’ data and promoting responsible, transparent use of technology. 

*Starting August 1, 2026, data brokers must delete your data within 90 days.  

Additional Resources

• Learn more about the City’s approach to Digital Privacy.
• Learn how the City’s efforts to promote responsible AI.