Why do companies collect, sell, buy or store personal data

What if I tell y'all that there are big companies out there in the market whose names you are yet to hear, just they know yous very well, in fact, more than than what yous can remember of.

They are termed every bit Data Brokers, and their job is to collect all kinds of data that includes your name, address, place of work, hobbies, interests, family, and things that you practise online. You lot will be surprised to know that much of this information collection trade has existed for decades. Today, what has changed is the book and nature of the data being extracted from the Internet. First, it was but the PCs and Laptops, now handheld devices like smartphones have get the target of all data banker companies.

So, how do Data Brokers collect information? What do companies do with online user data? How do they brand money from it? This mail takes a look at it.

Why do companies collect, sell, buy, store personal online data?

Companies collect your data in gild to build up your contour, which tin exist used to push you targetted products and services. This has become big business concern now as customers are willing to pay a lot of money for such data, which tin help them target specific segments of the market.

Why do companies collect, sell, buy or store personal data

Data Brokers sell data to Businesses

At that place has been an unprecedented growth of a multi-billion dollar industry of information brokers that operates in the glooms with virtually no oversight.

Data Brokers collect, analyze and bundle some of your most sensitive personal information and sell it equally a commodity to businesses, advertisers, other data brokers, and even the government without letting them know.

Data collected by Data Brokers include-

Proper name, Historic period, and Gender
Nowadays and previous Address
Handphone numbers
Email address
Marital status
Age of Children
Holding buying
Political preferences
Income details
Educational details and more

The extent of data collection can spread to monitoring important life events like marriage, baby, human relationship status, getting a divorce and more.

How do Information Brokers collect your personal information

Data Brokers tin be termed every bit specialist firms beyond the web. To gather information about users and throw up related ads, they host a slew of 3rd parties that detect who comes to the site and build up a digital profile most them.

You may argue that how it is possible to rail your web movement when you traverse from one site to another. Data brokers, apply tools such equally Cookies, web beacons, e-tags and a variety of other tools. Cookies, widely used on desktop computers, are small pieces of code that are dropped on a user's browser. A Spider web buoy is a small transparent graphic image that is placed on a website or in an email and used to monitor the browsing or e-mail-sending behavior of the user

Using the above monitoring techniques, they summarize what sites users you lot have visited, what y'all take shopped for, what fourth dimension you are probable to shop, and so on.

1] Anonymous data sets tin be de-anonymized

As more than data gets attached to cookies and devices, it becomes easier to place users. With the necessary information, anonymous data sets can be de-anonymized. Researchers say that but two data points is plenty to place more than one-half the users. Hence, data brokers easily hitch other personal details too, such as your income, the size of your home, number of children, property type – rented or owned.

2] Other information sources for Data Brokers

Easily bachelor information in the grade of Government records and other publicly bachelor data are other sources of data feeders for Data Brokers. For instance, the motor vehicles department may sell information like your proper noun, address, your vehicle types to data companies, although only for certain permitted purposes, including identity verification.

Similarly, publicly bachelor voting records, which include information about your party registration and how often you vote, tin also be bought and sold with restrictions and just to some third-parties.

3] From your smartphone

Nearly free smartphone apps that you happily install on your phone ask for permission to access your address book or other folders. Nosotros quickly and happily give information technology, since we are eager to utilise the app. This is how the apps become access to your data and steal your contact details and more.

The latest case is the popular Sarahah app which uploads your entire address book – and the developer has accustomed this as a fact!

Non-Conventional Data brokers

Non-Conventional Data brokers are those entities that are not into the data collection business, but their core business organisation is such that they take access to information worth billions of dollars.

Accept a look:

1] Banks

Much of our sensitive fiscal information is shared with banks we transact. When using their cyberbanking services, we are bound to share information that includes,

Social Security number
Account Balances and Transaction History
Credit History and Investment Feel
Domicile and office accost
Information related to a task, email, phone number, and more

Although Banks are required to comply with the Consumer Privacy Policy, which necessitates them to inform users about data collection and use and allow those users to opt-out of some, there are loop-holes to bypass the process.

During third party audits and credit checks, much of the user financial information is shared with third parties, effectively turning your banking concern into a information broker. Banks also shares their customer'due south information points with companies for marketing / improving customer service experience.

2] Social websites

There is a price to pay if something comes as free and you are welcomed only after yous hand over your personal information. Costless email, free OS, gratuitous app to connect with friends and family and free search, all come with information compromise.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter collect heaps of personal data, including ages, friends, and interests, when you sign up and spend time browsing. Much of the information is collected without you being aware of it. For instance, Facebook'southward "Similar" and Twitter's "Tweet" buttons which most websites embed in society to permit visitors like/follow their page deport a lawmaking that allows the social-networking companies to rails users' movements even if they practise not click those buttons.

Google is past far the #1 search engine and its other gratuitous services like Gmail, Google Maps, rank amid the best and most preferred in the industry. However, there is a merchandise-off in substitution of the gratis services that Google provides. A lot of your personal information is collected by the Search giant to dish out personalized, targeted advert experiences.

Your proper name, email address, phone number, credit card information, your usage pattern, your advice with other websites using AdWords and other Google technologies, your device information, search queries, and more than, is collected by Google to know more about y'all. Google through Chrome too stores data in your browser via local browser storage to know your preferences.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter collect heaps of personal data, including ages, friends, and interests, when you sign up and spend time browsing. Much of the data is collected without y'all existence enlightened of it. For instance, Facebook's "Similar" and Twitter's "Tweet" buttons which most websites embed in order to allow visitors like/follow their folio carry a lawmaking that allows the social-networking companies to track users' movements fifty-fifty if they practise not click those buttons.

Consumer data drove visitor, Datalogix, entered into an agreement with Facebook, to rail whether Facebook users who see ads for certain products actually cease up buying them at local stores.

Microsoft had to come out time and once more and defend itself on what information it collects. The company clearly spells out what it collects, which includes Name, Contact data, Login credentials, Demographic data, Payment credentials, and more than.

Contrary to its privacy policy, which says that it reads everything, the company says that it does not read the text of the e-mail, but only the line and torso. Thankfully, information technology does not sell ads aggressively with the data it collects.

Read: How to depersonalize your Google search and free yourself from the filter chimera.

Data Brokers industry is growing rapidly

According to a report, the Figure estimated for the year 2022 reveals that the data broker industry generated $156 billion in revenues," a sum that is "more than than twice the size of the entire intelligence upkeep of the U.s. Government." So you can imagine the size of this marketplace today in 2022!

Although there are numerous data brokers agile in Europe, the European information broker landscape is not comparable to the U.s.a. market in terms of market size. The European revenues of big information brokers, such equally Acxiom, LexisNexis, corporeality just to a fraction of their overall revenues.

The house Acxiom, publicly traded on the NASDAQ, does more $1.1 billion annually offering its analytical services and is just one of the many other companies in the The states.

Read: What is Information Mining?

Precautions yous tin accept to preclude stealing of your personal data

Is it safe to say that your privacy is traded for coin? Yep of class! Remember, no free service is really free. Some of the ways which help yous avoid getting poached by data brokers are – surfing anonymously, not using a smartphone, never opening an business relationship on the social channel and never taking advantage of a free Web service – and this is something that may non be possible in today's times!

Nonetheless, a few things yous could do are – employ a VPN software, frequently clear your Cyberspace cache & cookies or ameliorate till surf in the Incognito fashion, be careful what you share on the social media and exist aware of the pages y'all 'Like'. Use a proficient security software to secure your device and be careful of what data you requite out online. Be enlightened of Phishing emails, Social Engineering and Identity Theft.

Where possible opt out of tracking or personalized ads. You tin can conform the privacy settings on Facebook and stop the social giant to track your activities. We have seen how to opt-out of and Cease Personalized ads in Windows 11/ten and how to opt-out and maintain your privacy when using Google Services.

During the installation of a software or an iPhone or an Android app, ever be careful of the permissions you requite. If y'all have given permission, you should check your settings and revoke the permissions.

But remember, whatever you do, you lot will yet be tracked! In that location is nowhere to become, nowhere to hide…if yous are online, rest assured that yous have been profiled!

Why do companies collect, sell, buy or store personal data