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We are now living in a data-driven era. I think it will be very useful to share with my readers how centralized tech companies gather user data and how they use it. Data is very important, and it is good to know where your data is going, who is handling it, and what the handler can do with your data.
Even though these companies do not intend to do anything bad with their users' data, as it helps them customize their interactions with the customers, and in most cases, it is their right to protect their users' data, it is also important to know that the company you are sharing your data with might one day turn against you; hence, we need to be mindful of how we share our data with these companies. Now let's dive into our discussion.
In the first place, you should always ask yourself these three important questions.
- What kind of data does the tech company take from me?
- How is my data being collected? and finally
- How do they use my data?
Let's now look at these three questions one after the other.
- What kind of data does the tech company take from me?
Have you ever taken the time to read the "terms and conditions" or "privacy policy" of an app or a website before hitting the "Agree" button? I guess your answer is no, because in most cases, even if you try to read them, you may stop along the way and just rush to hit the "Agreed" button, or you will even finish reading without understanding what is being discussed. The contents of the terms and conditions include all the data that the app or website will take from you and probably how they are going to use the data.
Most of the basic data you share with these brands includes your name, date of birth, phone number, email address, location, IP address, the device that you are using, what you are doing while you log in to your account and many others.
All this information is categorized into various sections. These sections include:
Personal Information: This involves the user's personal information like name, password, payment information, social security number, licenses, et cetera.
Unique identifiers like IP addresses, system activities, browser types, device types, etc.
Activities like reviews, purchase activities, browsing history, messages, contents, etc.
Location They take data like timezones and, GPS. Information AboutThingsrNear a Devicee et Cetera
These are just a part of what is being taken from the user; there are a lot more that I couldn't state. But this is enough to inform you that a lot of data is taken from you when you visit the internet.
2. How is my data being collected? and finally
There are several ways these brands take our data. both directly and indirectly. Some of the ways they take user data include
- By directly asking the user to enter his or her data, is the most common way tech companies take your data. They do this by asking for your input in a particular situation or on a product by leaving a review, taking a survey, or leaving a rating. Sometimes you will be asked to present your email to be fed a specific set of information. Longer credentials are also taken through this method.
- By tracking your activity, This is a very common way of taking user data through the internet. As you are surfing the net, your data is being taken the same way. The type of data taken here can fall under the "activities" data category, which includes: review, purchase activities, browsing history, messages, contents, etc.
- By buying user data: Some tech brands take user data by buying it from some of their users who are willing to sell their data.
These are some of the ways your data is being taken by these brands and the kinds of data we share with them. To make these posts more readable, I will take a break here so that my next post will be focused on how the collected data is being used by these brands and its effect on their consumers.
You can visit security.org for more information about the data you share with the popular tech brands you use in your day-to-day activities.
Thanks for your time.
Consulted sources include forbes.com, security.org the cover picture created by @salamdeen.
