How companies track and monetize your information

Companies generate huge profits from people’s information, with experts describing user data as “the new oil.”

Some of these companies are well-known names, but many are unknown, with one analyst comparing the relationship between companies and users to “David versus Goliath,” CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

Is there anything you can do about it, or are you resigned to companies knowing everything about you and making money from it?

How companies collect data

Sam Jones, founder of Gener8, a company that helps users earn money from their online data, explains how companies have cultivated user data, writes Sky News.

“Companies collect data about people through a range of methods, many of which operate quietly in the background as we go about our daily lives. Most of us have heard of ‘cookies,’ but many may not realize that a ‘cookie’ is really just another word for a tracker. And when you click ‘accept’ on a cookie banner, you are not only allowing the website you are on to track you, but often allowing hundreds of different companies hidden in the site’s terms and conditions.”

Other methods of data collection include tiny images embedded in websites and emails that track activity; device fingerprinting, where websites collect specific device information such as screen size, browser type, and fonts to create a unique way of identifying it; and mobile apps, many of which include third-party software that sends data about users to other companies—this can include location or usage habits, for example.

There are also companies known as data brokers that collect information about users which can be sold to advertisers, insurers, or even political groups.

“Ultimately, users are often handing over significant amounts of data without fully understanding the scale of what is being collected, how it is being used, or who it is being shared with,” Jones said.

What data do companies collect?

The data collected falls into two categories: personal data—information about users such as name, email, phone number, and location; and behavioral data—information about how users interact with websites, which ones they visit, what they search for, how they search, where they click, and how long they spend on each part of a site. Combined, this data can be used to predict interests, habits, and even life events.

Why do companies collect data?

Advertising is one of the main and most profitable reasons companies collect data. If companies understand users better, they are in a stronger position to sell products to them or help others sell products to them.

What can you do about it?

It can feel frightening knowing that information about you is online. The best first step is being aware of where your data is on the internet.

Various online tools, for a fee, will search the internet to see which companies have a user’s information and remove it. But to do this yourself for free, you need to carry out a personal digital audit.

This can be done by reviewing your emails to see where you have signed up; searching your name and phone number on different search engines to see where your information appears. Once identified, you can take control of it. Websites that may hold your data will have a privacy policy.

You should look carefully at sections referring to user rights or data. From there, you can often find how to request deletion, or you can contact the company directly to do so.

With the latest privacy laws, users can submit legal requests to remove their data—for example, Google’s “Results About You” tool. Forgotten accounts can also be hubs of a user’s online data, so remember to clean them up by deleting unused profiles.

Similarly, be mindful of who you share data with in the first place and pay attention to app permissions on your phone—delete old and unused apps, as fewer apps mean fewer avenues for data collection.

As reported by CE Report, on social media, it is also worth being conscious of what you share and what your privacy settings are. There are also technical ways to protect your data online through software such as VPNs, reports KosovaPress.