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Decluttering your online life: how to get your digital house in order and protect your data from AI
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- DeepHorus
Australians are urged to clear out digital clutter to reduce environmental harm, improve mental health, and protect personal data from AI companies. The average person spends 40% of waking hours online, producing 229kg of carbon emissions, according to a study in Nature Communications. AI tools consume “orders of magnitude” more energy than traditional computing.
Many Australians worry about datacentres consuming land and energy, yet rarely examine their own digital trails. Endless photos, videos, bursting inboxes and unread subscriptions feed demand for growing digital infrastructure. Clearing digital clutter can shrink this footprint while boosting productivity.
An IDC study of 840 information workers found employees waste two hours weekly hunting for lost files. Libby Sadler, associate professor at Bond University, says disorganisation creates cognitive friction and negative moods. She advises emptying trash bins, unsubscribing from unread items, deleting unused apps, and using one cloud provider.
Andrew Cullen, senior research fellow at University of Melbourne, compares digital decluttering to cleaning a house. He suggests deleting old emails from one-time stores and unsubscribing, plus removing blurry photos. Cloud tools can help identify poor images, but users can also delete a day’s photos.
AI companies scrape data for commercial ends. Cullen warns old selfies, abandoned social accounts and forgotten emails may hold value for AI firms or anyone wanting to learn about you. Such data can include ID scans or job history.
Sadler says slow apps and lost files create negative moods that hurt work and life. Cullen says asking what we keep, and who values it, is crucial. Proactive effort is needed to expunge digital fluff from phones, email and cloud services.
Limiting AI use—unsubscribing from AI platforms and excluding AI search results—is one option. Weekly cleanups make digital junk disappear quickly. Organising devices and cloud storage protects data and reduces environmental impact.
