How Your Personal Information is Collected, Sold, and What You Can Do About It
Our digital lives leave a data trail wherever and whenever we go online. This data, referred to as personal information (PI), can include anything from your email address, name and address, browsing habits, shopping habits, and purchase history. Companies collect this information in many ways, consolidate it into comprehensive profiles, and often sell it to third parties. Your PI is valuable. And while this can be beneficial for more personalized experiences while shopping online, it also raises concerns about privacy and control over your own data.
The Data Collection Dragnet
Where do data brokers get your personal information?
Directly from You: This is the most obvious method. When you sign up for online services, make purchases, or fill out web forms, you willingly provide your personal information.
Social Media: Every post, like, and share on social media platforms contributes to your digital profile.
Data Brokers: These companies aggregate information from various sources, including public records, loyalty programs, and even offline purchases, to create detailed consumer profiles. We provide a short list of data brokers later in this article.
Mobile Apps: Many apps collect location data, browsing history, and even app usage patterns.
Consolidating your personal information
Once it’s collected, your PI is pieced together to create a comprehensive picture of you. Data brokers are the masterminds behind this consolidation. They purchase information from various sources and use sophisticated algorithms to connect the dots. This can include linking your email address across different to your real name, your home address, phone number, and more.
YOU in the Marketplace
The consolidated data profiles are then often bought and sold by businesses for various purposes, including:
Targeted Advertising: Advertisers use your profile to tailor ads to your specific interests and demographics.
Market Research: Companies use personal information to understand consumer behavior and preferences.
Risk Assessment: Lenders and insurers might use your data to evaluate your creditworthiness or risk profile.
Taking Back Control: Opting Out
While the data collection digital world can seem overwhelming, there are steps you can take to limit the information collected and sold:
Review Privacy Policies: Before signing up for any service, understand how your data will be used and shared.
Manage App Permissions: Be selective about the permissions you grant to mobile apps.
Utilize Privacy Tools: Consider privacy browsers like Brave, good ad-blocking extensions like uBlocck Origin, and privacy-focused search engines like DuckDuckGo that limit data collection
Opt-Out of Data Brokers: Several data brokers allow you to opt out of having your information sold. You can search for these companies online and follow their specific opt-out procedures. But keep in mind that opting out is an ongoing process. New data brokers emerge, and existing ones might require periodic opt-out requests.
Privacy Regulations
Some regions have implemented data privacy regulations that give individuals more control over their personal information. These regulations might include the right to access your data, request its correction, or even demand its deletion. Familiarize yourself with the data privacy regulations applicable to your location.
The future of data privacy
The conversation around data collection and privacy is constantly evolving. As technology advances, so too will the methods of collecting and using personal information. Staying informed about these developments and exercising your rights will be crucial in maintaining control over your digital footprint.
Here is a short list of some of the well-known data brokerage companies:
Acxiom (now LiveRamp)
Experian
Epsilon
CoreLogic
Datalogix
Intelius
PeekYou
Exactis
Recorded Future
This is not a complete list; many other data brokerages are operating worldwide.
How much of your personal information is out there?
To see how much of your personal information is somewhere out there in the digital world, you can get a free personal information scan at one of the following:
Optery (Click on the Join Free button).
These two we have tried, there are many others.
The internet brings undeniable convenience, but it’s important to understand how your personal information is collected, used, and sold. By using the information included here and staying informed about evolving data privacy practices, you can take control of your digital footprint and navigate the online world with greater peace of mind.
Happy Birthday Darcy. As TC says, you are one in a billion and you can’t be all bad. July 30th happens to be my daughters birthday also. So that is why you can;t be bad. I have been with Cloudeight since you started and don’t know what I would have done without all these years. I recommend you to friends that are having computer problems. Hope your day is a blessed and wonderful day and spent with family and friends.
Happy Birthday Darcy. As TC says, you are one in a billion and you can’t be all bad. July 30th happens to be my daughters birthday also. So that is why you can’t be bad. I have been with Cloudeight since you started and don’t know what I would have done without you all these years. I recommend you to friends that are having computer problems. Hope your day is a blessed one and a wonderful day spent with family and friends.
Happy Birthday dear Darcy, one of two people I think I´d trust with my life. 😁 I don´t do much ´surfing´ the Internet anymore, everything has gone way too far for me now.
Anyway, I thank you (as well as TC) for trying to keep us safe. Have a wonderful day.
Happy Birthday Darcy, Have a fantastic day, thanks for all your hard work and for the tips and tricks you and TC give out every week. They do help keep us safe. I did use the Mozilla monitor tool and found out more about the data breach I had talked about before. But when I received the results, it said ” Breach data provided by Have I Been Pwned” I thought that was a questionable site?
Hi Di. Thanks for wishing Darcy a happy Birthday. Have I Been Pwned is not questionable but using it as gauge to measure how much of your personal info is out there is not a good idea. Almost everyone’s email address will show up on that site, it’s how much data has been attached to that email address by data brokers – up to and including your real name, home address, phone number, and even more.
Ok, just remember that even us “little guys” can be taken for fools and have our money stolen. I just today have been scammed out of 1499.00 and 499.00. How I haven’t a clue as I am super aware of and never open anything! Even got right to the sites via the regular way. So how in the heck do they manage this. I am just sick over it as they were a “relative scammer but had my SIN and everything else to make up an account using my credentials. Google says I am on the “Dark Web.” How did I manage that. Who would have thought that back around 30 some years ago we would even think about something like this happening. The internet is no more fun and hasn’t been since Covid.
Dawn
hi Dawn, I too am on the dark web. For me, it was through a third party company that Giant Tiger uses for communication. I didn’t find out till I used Google’s dark web scanning tool. My email, phone, and even my physical address is out there. I got the occasional spam but now it’s horrendous. It is scary for sure.
Happy blessed birthday Darcy!!!!!!!