I think some people believe that this is a single event; like they get your email and that’s it. They don’t realize or care that it is a constant ongoing collection of any and all possible information that is held by a company whose motive is profit. These companies are associating ip addresses with devices and activities all the time. Turns out the older your data the less it is worth. Stop when you can- even if it’s a slow process. Privacy is a human right
IP addresses
MAC addresses (physical devices, bluetooth devices in range)
Wifi access points
Cell tower access points
Browser cookies
Browsing history
Search history
Email (and its contents)
GPS paths traveled
Contacts
Apps installed, apps used, frequency of use
Hours inactive
Photos, videos
Just thinking about Google here as I don’t use meta products, but my phone is android…
Turns out the older your data the less it is worth
That’s why I think is not the best approach to delete your accounts. Keep an old phone with all your accounts and every now and then watch a random video, make a random search, follow a random profile, and so on with all your accounts. Over time your true profile will become obsolete and buried under fake data.
Only true for bad informasjon gathering operations. They have device id and ip address, so they know it is an old phone. They will know that your new phone is your new phone and will prioritise that one. Now they just also know that you are trying to cheat the system, so you are now put in the “watch with more care”, so you will be the most advanced agents on you.
We are talking about privacy, not security, like when being individually targeted by the state or someone else, that’s another topic. Privacy-wise the main source of information about you comes from apps that collect all the information available (which is huge), they sell it to data brokers which in turn sell it other companies that tipically try to sell you something or want to know your habits (like your employers). If you don’t use their apps they can’t collect information about you and sell it, and that happens when you migrate to free software. Only location will still be collected because mobile service providers log it and sell it, but there are ways to mitigate that too.
For many people it’s easier to not care… they don’t want to bother with long term consequences of their behaviors.
I simply ask them if they would be OK with a company taking money out their bank account.
Your data is valuable. Why give it away for free?
I simply ask them if they would be OK with a company taking money out their bank account.
This is as unconvincing an analogy as , and for the same reason.
Unconvincing to whom? That campaign did an amazing job of equating copyright to property ownership for an entire generation.
It’s not accurate, but I think we’ve seen that it can be very convincing for most people.
I wouldn’t recommend trying to trick people into caring about their privacy: it’s not good for your reputation or your long-term relationship with them.
Which generation is that? I’ll be honest, I’ve yet to talk to someone who really gives a crap about where the content they’re consuming is coming from. Hell, most people I’ve dealt with don’t give a crap about content being pirated whenever it happens to be the more convenient option.
“Hey I’m going to buy your location data tonight.”
“I like to know where you go on Thursdays”
This what Google, Facebook, X, your ISP, and the junk apps on your phone actually get from you, and everyone around you when you use their creepy apps.
Hit me up on Mastadon, use Tor, use DDG, we should have an restraining order against these creeps. Worse yet they don’t just want it for themselves they sell and share it with company, countries, anyone they like, and don’t tell you.
This is how I WANT to talk about because it’s how I feel. Their just strangers, I wouldn’t tell a stranger on the street any of this. I feel like this is such a fringe thought for people though.
They may already have your data today but as soon as you can cut off pipelines that data starts getting stale.
For anyone who seems uninterested, ask if they’d like to be arrested for murder simply because they biked past a place every day.
For anyone looking for great talking points about this issue, I highly recommend “Taking Control of Your Personal Data” by prof. Jennifer Golbeck, published by The Teaching Company, ISBN:978-1629978390, likely available at your local library as a DVD or streaming.
If it’s done and dusted because they already have your data then why are they constantly trying to get more?
