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In this article, we delve into the intricate interactions involved in the trading of your information. The subject is highly controversial because the sale of private data by data brokers without the permission of the user is illegal in many cases. This covers various types of information, including your app usage to your behavior in online purchases, all of which can be used to deduce personal traits.
The government and big tech companies have also been purchasing data, raising concerns about privacy.
Despite the potential risks and the rampant ways data is sold, many people continue to give away their data through app usage and loyalty programs.
This article will help you understand how your data is sold and also suggest ways to protect privacy, such as the use of alternative app stores and turning off location tracking.
Table of Contents
The Data Brokers
Data Brokers act as middlemen for developers and website owners who want to sell information about their users. These brokers purchase data from thousands of apps and companies, making it possible to collect information about anything users do within every app and website used. This includes everything from text messages, phone calls, and search history to what users like, dislike, and purchase.
Anonymizing Data
Data Brokers may offer to anonymize the data they sell to make it seem less intrusive. However, this is often a moot point, as it is easy to de-anonymize data if enough information is collected.
De-Anonymizing Data
Collecting enough data about a subject can make it easy to de-anonymize them. This is because data Brokers purchase data from thousands of apps and companies, giving them thousands of guesses to figure out exactly who a person is.
The 200 Billion Dollar Industry
Data sales is shockingly a 200 billion dollar industry, making it a very lucrative business for Data Brokers. Despite the constant sales of people’s data, most continue to give away their data by using apps with built-in trackers and loyalty cards that make it easier for companies to track purchases.
The Concerns
Tracking During the Pandemic
Understanding how your data is sold becomes even more critical during unprecedented times like a pandemic. During the pandemic, concerns about tracking and data privacy increased as the CDC purchased data about people who were not following lockdown procedures, including those going to places of worship and K-12 schools.
In China, the government used data even more aggressively to track citizens who were not following lockdown protocols, and even to arrest journalists reporting anything against the official COVID narrative.
Collaboration Between Government, Big Tech, and Data Brokers
The fast movement and open collaboration between the government, big tech, and data brokers, have raised concerns about online privacy. The UK’s data and privacy authority confirmed that the government could use mobile phone data to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, in America, the overturning of Roe v. Wade essentially rendered abortion illegal in certain states. Fear now exists that data will be used by authorities to track people who have committed or are planning to commit a crime related to abortion laws.
Online Privacy and Roe v. Wade
The Roe v. Wade effect extends even further than you might think. Apps like those used to track menstrual cycles could be used to track women seeking abortions, and data brokers could sell this information to authorities.
While eliminating the use of unnecessary data-collecting apps is a good start, turning off location data and considering the old-school way of doing things without apps can also help protect online privacy.
Overall, the concerns about data privacy are widespread and affect everyone. Collaboration between government, big tech, and data brokers raises concerns about the potential misuse of data. It’s important to be aware of these concerns and take any steps you can to to protect your personal information.
Examples of Data Use
Planned Parenthood Data
Data brokers have been selling information about people who have visited Planned Parenthood locations. Placer AI and Safecraft are two data brokers that have been reported on recently for selling this kind of data. The fear of this data being used against people in the context of the overturning of Roe v Wade has brought this issue to light. However, this kind of data can be used to track people going to any kind of establishment, not just Planned Parenthood.
Location Data
Location data is another kind of data that can be sold by data brokers. Placer AI is a location data firm that offers data heat maps on its website, which can be used to cyberstalk someone and potentially figure out where they live, and to dox them.
Various Apps Data
Data brokers purchase data from thousands of apps and companies, which means they have hundreds of data points they can use to figure out exactly who you are.
Apps like Islamic prayer apps and gay dating apps have been reported to sell data about their users to data brokers like xmode.
Although we already touched on apps like menstrual cycle trackers, which have been found selling user data potentially related to a user’s pregnancy status, you’ll find plenty of surprises in other areas as well.
For example, in 2012, Target’s product recommendation algorithm was able to discover that a father’s teenage daughter was pregnant before he did, based on her purchase history. This shows how data can be used to make assumptions about people and recommend more products to them.
Protecting Your Privacy
Eliminating Unnecessary Data Collection
One of the easiest ways to protect your privacy is to eliminate any unnecessary data collection. This can be done by avoiding apps that collect more data than they need to function.
For example, on Android phones, alternative app stores like F-Droid and Aurora Store offer open-source apps that usually don’t come bundled with any unnecessary trackers. Aurora Store also points out when an app has trackers, making it easier to know before installing if the app is going to try to collect data about you.
Turning Off GPS
GPS information can be collected about you, and many apps request your location data. One way to protect your privacy is to turn off your phone if you aren’t expecting any calls or text messages anytime soon.
This is a surefire way to know that the apps on your phone are not passively tracking you. Remember, people got along just fine for pretty much all of human history without being able to text one another 24/7, so turning off your phone when you don’t need it is a viable option.
Considering Alternatives to Apps
If you’re concerned about your privacy, you should consider the old school way of doing things that don’t have apps and thus don’t have any ways of tracking you.
For example, tracking your steps, figuring out when to pray, and what direction Mecca is in can all be done without apps. If you’re someone who is using apps for these things and also concerned about your privacy, then you should probably consider the old school way of doing things.
Conclusion: How Your Data Is Sold
Data brokers act as middlemen for app and website developers to sell information about their users, including everything done within every app and on every website, as well as any assumptions that can be made from analyzing all of this data.
The data sales industry is worth over $200 billion, and data brokers purchase data from thousands of apps and companies, which means they have thousands of guesses to figure out exactly who you are.
During the pandemic, governments were purchasing data about people who were not following lockdown procedures, and this collaboration between the government, big tech, and data brokers has raised concerns about online privacy. It’s important to do research and understand the underlying technologies to better protect oneself from these privacy concerns.
To avoid data collection, individuals can try to eliminate the use of apps that collect unnecessary data about them, turn off their phone when not expecting any calls or text messages, and consider the old-school way of doing things, apps-free and thus free from data trackers.
You can also work to remove any unwanted data already out there. One software we recommend for data removal from data brokers is DeleteMyTrace.com. They will manually remove your data from websites currently selling it.
Bottom line, it’s crucial to be aware of how individual data is being sold, so that you may take steps to protect your own privacy in this digital age.
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