Privacy, Online and Off

 

                                                                  Do You Really Live in Privacy?

                        It has become more prominent and well-known over the past couple of years about companies invading our privacy and personal data. A big concern with social media is the fact that people are unaware of how much personal information they exert on the internet. Nowadays many people seem to have no sense of security when it comes to their personal information. People used to be much more cautious about what they post and what they shared. Platforms have made it easy to share a lot of information and you're not even aware.

                    For instance, sharing your location. There have been deaths that are caused by sharing locations. Well-known rapper Pop Smoke was killed in a home invasion on February 19, 2020. This happened because his address was on an Amiri tag that he posted to his story, where multiple fugitives showed up and then caused the scene. What people do not understand is that all of this information you spread is being recorded by these companies for multiple purposes. 

                    Companies use this information for targeted advertising. By collecting this data they are informed about the users habits, location, and even interests. Have you ever wanted a product really bad, and then you see it on your Instagram ads? A company seeing this may start feeding you ads for that exact product after they see your interest. The weirdest part is that you never asked for those ads, they came out of nowhere. It's almost like someone is watching you... Or keeping tab of what you research...

                   

                                             

 Some of these corporations can use the info users put out on social media to create detailed profiles. Their political views and interests are at risk of being seen. The companies might even sell this information to third parties or targeting a specific audience with a message. Potentially the most well-known stealing of information was in 2018, with Cambridge Analytica stealing millions of personal data from Facebook users without their consent. This data allegedly helped create targeted political advertising campaigns during the 2016 presidential election. This sparked investigations around the world about Facebook and its access to users personal information.  Users should be more aware of the information they put online, it may truly never go away.