Why are we tracked online and should we worry?
PETALING JAYA: The world is more connected than ever, and that’s in large part due to the rapid evolution of the internet.
While this has brought about services that have become nearly essential to our lives like e-commerce, streaming, and social media, it also means that we all leave a larger digital footprint than ever before which companies can take advantage of.
With this in mind, FMT asked an expert why companies track you, if you should be worried and what you can do if you want to minimise how much information they collect.
SL Rajesh of the International Association for Counter-Terrorism and Security Professionals knows the importance of cybersecurity as well as anyone and understands why being tracked or having one’s data captured can be a matter of great concern.
However, he said there was little to worry about in the vast majority of cases.
“Ultimately, these companies want to make money, and doing nefarious things with your information is not the best way to do that,” he told FMT.
“Companies generally want to gather data because they can monetise the information. A company like Google, for example, will have all this data about its users, which perhaps a clothing shop would be interested in accessing so it can target its marketing strategy to specific customers it’s looking to capture.”
How it happens
The connected world we live in gives our devices unprecedented insights into our routines and interests, which can then be leveraged.
Rajesh said: “Let’s say you click on a random advert for BMW. Now, whichever company is tracking you knows you have an interest in BMWs. It can also assume you are in the income bracket that allows you to afford that sort of car and will advertise other products that other people in your income group tend to look for, like watches and jewellery.
“Same thing if you go to a certain shop often. Because your phone has GPS, companies will be able to see that you tend to go to the same Thai restaurant in Ampang and might start suggesting other Thai restaurants or other eateries in that same area since it knows you’re there often and like that sort of food.”
His clients often complain to him that they suspect their phones are listening to them because they get ads for things they have never looked for online but only spoken about, but he said this was highly unlikely.
“You think these companies have nothing better to do?” he said with a laugh. “Billions of users, and you think they want to listen to your conversation with a friend? It’s more likely you don’t remember looking an item up or somebody you knew searched for it instead and advertisers were able to assume you’d have interest in a product based on those other factors.”
Be safe
He said it was worth practising good “tech hygiene” online even if most instances of data tracking were not malicious.
“The worry is when you are being tracked by less reputable companies. Google or Facebook (now Meta) would have no interest in doing criminal things with your data, but make sure you aren’t visiting unsafe sites.”
Certain websites display a padlock symbol next to the URL, which indicates a secure site. “So be more careful if a site doesn’t have that,” Rajesh said.
“Also don’t give away your personal information if you have doubts about the site. Don’t click on suspicious links or adverts.
“Just be aware of the risks of being online.”
When you finish browsing, it’s also a good idea to clear your cookies, which are small packets of information a website uploads to your browser to help identify you in future.
If you’ve ever revisited a site to find you’re still logged in, that’s because the site has identified that you already have an account with it. It recognises the cookie from your last session.
Advertisers can also place cookies on a site with the operator’s permission, again, to gather user data for better targeting.
Rajesh said clearing cookies was a simple step worth taking “if it gives you peace of mind”. -FMT
✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH
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