Most people take their privacy very seriously but neglect their online privacy. Most people wouldn’t want a stranger snooping in their bedroom, yet so many people ignore their online privacy. When Google, Facebook, or any other large corporation collects our personal data, many of us don’t even bat an eyelash to it. We’ve fallen under the “Why should I care about my privacy if I’ve got nothing to hide?” mentality. It’s natural to fall into this mentality, since it’s often not easy to see how our compromised privacy can negatively impact us. However, the truth is that compromising out privacy can negatively impact us in many ways. Here are a few of them.
Privacy Directly Impacts Equality
Many websites read, and track your data. In particular, websites for online shopping can be very invasive. Websites can pull your data, and know which websites you’ve visited, how much time you’ve spent on there, how much you’ve spent and what you spent your money on. This is all well known. “So What?” you might ask. It’s not like they can do anything malicious with this information right? That’s where you might be surprised.
A recent investigation by Marketplace found that based on your shopping habits, some companies will change the price of their offerings to make the most money from you. If they know you’re a picky spender, they might lower the cost a bit to try and entice you to make a purchase from them. If they know you like to spend a bit more for convenience, they might raise the cost a bit to squeeze an extra few cents from you.
Is it fair that one person is charged differently than another? If you don’t think so, then privacy should matter to you.
Your Information Can Get Into the Wrong Hands
Just recently, there was a scandal involving Facebook and a company called Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica collected hundreds of data points for millions of users. They used this data for political advertisements, but if they have this data, what is stopping a determined hacker from stealing all this data? Data breaches are a common occurrence. Credit Card companies, Dating apps, Social Media sites, are prime targets. You might be fine with Google, eHarmony, or American Express having your data, would you be fine with John Doe from Nigeria, or Jane Doe your internet stalker having access to things like your email, your address, or your shopping habits?
Recently, Marriot was hacked and the personal information of 500 million guests was exposed. Hackers stole, phone numbers, names, passport numbers, and the credit card information of many guests. If you don’t want your information to get in the wrong hands, you should care about your online privacy.
Care About Your Privacy
Caring about your privacy doesn’t have to be hard. Just think about the information that you are giving these companies, and decide for yourself what information you want to withhold. Be aware of the changes in law, and privacy policy that might impact you, and decide whether you will support them or not While shopping, compare prices from different websites and browsers, don’t pay more for something because of online price discrimination. Caring about your privacy is easy, with many added benefits.