Module 4 · Career, projects and honesty Lesson 13 of 15
Ethics, privacy and what never to paste
These tools send what you type to somebody else's computer and keep it in a history. Never paste passwords, government ID numbers, bank or card details, medical records, or another person's private data — and never paste a company's confidential document.
The concept
There is no version of this tool where your text stays on your laptop. Everything you type is sent to a server, kept in a history you can usually see, and may be reviewed or used to improve the product depending on the plan.
Grant the narrowest access you can, review the connections every few months, and never connect an account that can move money or delete data. A free plan with an expired connection is a common cause of quiet failures.
The practical rule for a fresher: replace the real thing with a stand-in. "Client A", "my friend's phone number", "the amount in the offer letter". The tool rarely needs the real value to do the work, and the stand-in costs you nothing.
And the professional rule: never build an automation that lets an untrusted person trigger an action in your account — a public form feeding a workflow is a door. If your employer has an approved plan or a policy, that policy is the answer, not your judgement about how sensitive a file really is.
Worked example
Connecting apps means giving a platform access to your accounts, and a connection is a door that stays open after you stop thinking about it
Your practice task
Go through your last five conversations and delete anything containing a real phone number, a client name, or a document you did not write. If you cannot find the delete button, that is the lesson.
Do this before moving on. Reading a solution teaches the shape of it; typing it teaches you.
Key takeaway
There is no version of this tool where your text stays on your laptop.
Keep your place in this course
A free account saves which lessons you have finished and unlocks the certificate. The lesson itself stays free to read.
Create free account or sign inCourse complete
You finished every lesson.
Your certificate is ready, and the projects you built are the proof to attach to an application.
Almost there
15 lessons left of 15
Finish every lesson to unlock the certificate. Each one ends in a practice task — do them and the final project brief writes itself.
