Private Data: Do Big Companies Share It?
The recent revelations that big corporates are collecting and sharing your data should give you a huge reason for using internet resources with caution. When it comes to social media, we are mostly worrying about personal information, and for a reason. For example, Emma's Diary has been fined for profiting from sharing young mom’s data. Another case: on the privacy policy page of GW real money site you can see a note that they are collecting some user’s data. Honest websites inform users that their actions on the platforms are collected and analyzed but they never sell these data. Make sure to check terms&conditions and privacy policy of the internet resources before entering any personal information.
In this blog post, we will take a look at how the corporations collect your data and discover if the big companies share the data without letting you know.
The Dark Corporate World Of Data Mining
Facebook is not the only resource suspected of mistreating our data. A lot of people have accused Google of selling information about their users to ad companies. Big corporations collect a lot of data including personal addresses, banking information, and users’ preferences. But why should you go through the struggle to protect personal data? What’s the significance of data for these tech companies? Personal data can either be used to target you with adverts or sold to third-party companies who will then target you with adverts.
Significance of Big Data For Tech Companies
The tech industry relies a lot on data for service delivery. To create and sell services to the right audience, the industry stakeholders pay attention to data. Facebook, for instance, took advantage of big data before deciding to acquire Indian company Jio. Facebook understood that Jio’s cheap internet would help connect businesses and they acquired the company to fortify their dominance in the Indian market.
Amazon, Google, and Apple do the same thing. They scrutinize available data before deciding on the next big product to invest in. This helps these companies to reduce risks of losses as data never lies. Armed with data, tech companies effectively target you with the ads of the goods and services which you love.
The availability of data ensures that the companies spend as little as possible to sell goods and services to the 'right' audience. With a working advertising model, tech companies can price their ads well and increase their revenues.
It doesn't come as a surprise, therefore, that these companies will go to any length to harvest user data.
Ways Through Which Companies Collect Personal Data
While some of these tech companies will notify you about their intention to use your data, a lot of them secretly collect the information without users' knowledge.
Here are some cunning ways via which tech companies collect user information:
When signing up to social media and other online platforms, we willingly submit sharing data to these platforms. The data includes our names, location, age, profession, personal preferences, etc.
A lot of modern tech companies have handy mobile applications. These mobile apps are ideal for consuming content on the go. While they make interactions much better, they are a source of data for the companies.
When you install an app on your mobile device, the app asks for permission to manage some apps within your mobile phone. These permissions give the companies access to your data and other information that they will store and use later.
Imagine the number of people with social media applications and the amount of data they have unwittingly given away to the tech companies.
- Via Mailing Lists and Newsletters
Companies often ask users to sign up to mailing lists and subscribe to their newsletters. These programs require you to reveal your data including email addresses, preferences, and, in some cases, your physical address.
Since you voluntarily give up the information, the companies are at liberty to use it for targeting you in their marketing campaigns. The next time you get a popup asking to sign you up for a newsletter or a similar program, think about the possibility of the company using your information elsewhere.
Why You Should Be Worried About Companies Harvesting Your Information
If the companies know what you love, they will give you exactly that and leave you with no option but to buy their goods. They will have control over your social life and even finances, and if you are not careful, you might fall into the pit of social media addiction.
In an era where different organizations are trying to beat addictions, giving these companies extra information doesn't help the cause. As an internet user, you should always remain vigilant about the personal information that you let the tech companies access. Without vigilance, your data might come back to haunt you in one way or the other.
Learn About How Companies Use Your Data
The best way to ensure that your data remains private is to choose a secure and trusted gaming company to give your data to. Before signing up to any tech, social media, or even entertainment company, take time to read their policies on personal information.
Find out if they collect any information and if they share the information with any third-party companies. If the company doesn't disclose its data policy, you should treat that as a red flag.
Conclusion
Since companies can use your data to their benefit, be cautious, and share it wisely. Pay attention to the privacy policy of the web site and do not submit every request you see on the screen of your electronic device.
0 Comment(s)