Articles on Ik vraag het Daan

Why I choose European companies for your email and photos

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Almost everyone I help keeps their email, photos and calendar with Google, Microsoft or Apple. That is not surprising. It is easy, and it was often already set up when you bought your phone. Even so, I recommend switching to European companies more and more often. In this article I explain why.

1. American laws also apply to your data

Google, Microsoft and Apple are American companies. Since 2018 the United States has had a law called the CLOUD Act. It means the American government can use an order to force American companies to hand over data, even if that data is stored in Europe. So it also applies if your data sits in a data centre in Europe.

Switching internet provider? How to keep your email address

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A cheaper internet and TV subscription is tempting. But many people don’t switch, for one reason: their email address. They have used it for twenty years, and everyone knows it. It is only natural that you have doubts about that.

What happens to your email address when you switch?

An email address ending in, for example, @kpnmail.nl, @ziggo.nl, @planet.nl or @home.nl belongs to the internet provider. Not to you.

If you switch, Dutch law says your old provider must still give you access to your email, or forward it, for six months. After that it stops. Some providers let you keep the address for longer if you pay, others not at all.

Why photos kept only on your phone are not safe

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Many people think their photos will simply stay on their phone. Until the phone gets dropped. Hundreds of photos of grandchildren, holidays and birthdays: gone.

How do photos get lost?

The phone breaks or ends up in water.
The phone is stolen, for example on the train or at the market.
A new phone, and something goes wrong when moving everything over.
The free storage is full, so new photos are no longer saved. You often only notice when it is too late.
Deleted by accident, for example to make space.

“But surely Google or Apple keeps them?”

Maybe. Many people have a backup switched on with Google or Apple, but the free space fills up after a few years. From that moment, new photos are no longer saved. A message does appear, but people often swipe it away.

Google Photos or iCloud storage full? These are your options

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“Your storage is almost full.” Many people get that message on their phone. They often swipe it away, because what are you supposed to do with it? Still, it is important to act on it.

What does that message mean?

Google gives you 15 GB of free space, Apple 5 GB. Your email, photos and backups all have to fit in there together. After a few years of taking photos, that space is full.

A password manager: safer than a notebook, and easier

Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bank, health insurer, online shop, council, email, streaming service. You need a password for everything. So it makes sense that people end up using the same password everywhere, or write everything down in a notebook next to the computer.

Why the same password everywhere is dangerous

Websites get hacked regularly. When that happens, lists of email addresses and passwords end up out in the open. Scammers then automatically try those combinations at banks, online shops and email services.

Digital legacy: what happens to your accounts when you are gone?

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It is not a pleasant subject, but it is an important one. What happens to your email, photos, banking and subscriptions when you are gone? Or if illness means you can no longer log in yourself?

Many people have not arranged this yet. For those left behind, it often becomes a long search.

What is a digital legacy?

Everything you have online:

your email and the messages in it;
your photos and videos;
accounts with online shops, social media and streaming services;
subscriptions that cost money every month;
online banking and insurance.

What do families run into?

They don’t know which accounts and subscriptions exist.
They can’t get to the photos, because they are on a locked phone or in an account.
Subscriptions keep running for months.
Companies ask for all kinds of paperwork before they give access, and sometimes they give no access at all.

What you can arrange yourself

Make an overview. A list of all your accounts and subscriptions. SeniorWeb, a Dutch organisation that helps people with computers, has a handy checklist for this.

Five common scams, and how to recognise them

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Scammers keep getting cleverer. They take advantage of helpful, polite people. These are the five tricks I come across most often.

1. “Hoi mam, this is my new number”

You get a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The sender says it is your son or daughter. In Dutch it usually starts with “Hoi mam” or “Hoi pap” (“Hi mum”, “Hi dad”). Their phone is broken, and they urgently need to pay a bill.

Why your smart home doesn't need to run through America

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Smart lights, a smart thermostat, a video doorbell. It is handy, and it keeps getting cheaper. But few people know how it actually works.

How do most smart devices work?

When you switch on a light through the app, that signal usually doesn’t go straight to the light. It first travels over the internet to a computer belonging to the manufacturer, often in America or China, and only then comes back to your home.

Why clubs should sort out their website, email and member list properly

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

At most clubs and associations it has just grown that way. A handy member once built the website. The secretary uses their own Gmail address. The member list is in an Excel file on the treasurer’s laptop. That works, until someone steps down.

What goes wrong when the committee changes?

The club’s email disappears along with the secretary’s private address.
Nobody can get into the website any more, because only the person who built it had the password.
The member list is on a private laptop, or has been sent round in ten different versions.
Old agreements and minutes can no longer be found.

What privacy law asks of the committee

A club keeps personal data: names, addresses, phone numbers, sometimes dates of birth or bank details. Under the GDPR (in Dutch: AVG), the committee is responsible for that data. Among other things, that means: