Back to trusting your favorite brands with your digital privacy?
I urge you to reconsider.
Certainly, there is no mystery in how tech companies and the governments across the globe, at times, misuse our data.
And, though, the I-have-nothing-to-hide people might not care about it, they need to take their online privacy just as seriously as us sane ones.
Digital privacy is complex and has become the hottest issue of the decade. And the reasons are solid. People have realized the significance of their data, owing to countless overwhelming incidents. And how its misuse has served companies’ ulterior motives in the past.
It doesn’t matter whatever excuses they may come up with- “Oh, It’S fOr ThE nAtIoN’s SaKe” or “It’S jUsT fOr AdVeRtIsEmEnTs, YoU kNoW!”. IT IS STILL UNETHICAL! And we all need absolute control over our data online. Any recording or transferring of the same must be consensual.
Let’s see how these companies manipulate your data to support their flawed ways of business.
GOOGLE:
No surprises here, Google is -and always has been- infringing your digital privacy. Their services- Maps, Search, Chrome, Assistant, and others have all been involved in misusing their users' personal data for monetary gains. Google Chrome is, arguably, the most widely used search engine in the market today. And it is also one of the highest contributors to Google’s annual earnings. (Hmmm… I wonder how? I get all my answers from google for free…)
Ads!
Google tracks its users’ interests based on their searches and bids them to data-hungry online ad companies for $$$, BIG MONEY!
And that’s not it. Countless of Google's services have been surreptitiously tracking their users’ location even after turning off their access to the location. So what's up? All of a sudden your old buddy whom you’ve asked most embarrassing of questions doesn’t seem to be trustworthy anymore?
Anyway, consumers around the world are getting serious about their data online, by the day. And this has brought the companies like Google and Facebook under some serious scrutiny, lately.
But the companies need to do this, at least to some extent. After all, they have based their entire business models on selling such data, to survive and reap profits.
Google chief executive Sundar Pichai, in a recent opinion piece, advocated the idea of complete privacy of user-data. According to him, privacy cannot be a “luxury good” and should be available to all, billions of users, without any distinction. He further said that Google has updated its security and privacy policies and will never sell its users' data to a third party.
Pichai also said, "Google is working harder than ever before to gain trust of its users by keeping all of their searches private and by bringing regular security updates to its products, to never let any vital information leak."
I think we can still give google a try and take them at their word.
APPLE:
Relatively, Apple's considered better than its competitors at respecting its customers' privacy. This is partly because it doesn’t gain anything from selling users’ data. Their model doesn’t revolve around this tactic. They make their own services and don’t need to launch targeted ads toward a certain user base.
According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple doesn’t benefit from encroaching into its consumers’ data. He also says that, nowadays, digital privacy has become “a crisis”.
Privacy is an arduous issue. Lots of tech companies have formulated multi-billion-dollar business models by exploiting the strategy of targeted advertising.
Cook says that all the big tech companies are very much an ally in matters of privacy. And they advocate for the ultimate digital security and seclusion of their customers.
AMAZON:
Since we're talking about all the 'big playas' in the industry, aren't you curious about Amazon?
Man, I surely am. Amazon deals with millions of users globally, daily. And what do these customers entrust Amazon with?
DATA.
Data worth God knows how much!
Amazon has never really been gravely targeted for infringing privacy. But given its ridiculously high number of dealings every day, it shouldn’t be left unconsidered. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezoz (just like Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai) has always been a vocal advocate for the digital privacy of his customers.
Au contraire, however, there have been a few cases of users' data-leak by Amazon's home assistant product- Echo.
People have frequently blamed it for transferring voice data of its users to other parties for segmented advertising. And you definitely can’t go about trusting your “home assistant” after it has done such heinous breaches.
Bezoz says that his company is trying really hard to end-to-end encrypt all of its users’ data. Moreover, amazon’s never really been a company deserving obstinate scrutiny for its privacy and security policies. But wanna know which one has always been so!?
Facebook!
FACEBOOK:
What do you wanna know about Facebook! Unarguably, it is in its own league. Facebook has been accused of privacy infringement issues every year since its inception. No matter what Zuckerberg might say about improving Facebook’s policies, you wouldn’t be wrong in still doubting the company’s way of working. Their whole ideology revolves around exploiting their customers’ personal data and monetizing them for gains, without their consent.
What hasn't Facebook done! It has, non-consensually, transferred and sold its users’ data (who knows worth how much)! And do I really need to remind you about the infamous Facebook-Cambridge Analytica fiasco? Post the data-mining scandal in April 2018, CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the Senate. And he said how Facebook 'inadvertently' allowed the data of more than 87 MILLION PEOPLE to get mined in the act. Really, Mark? Inadvertently?
Facebook has always been exploiting its customers and troubling them by continually infringing their online privacy. The company has gone over the line by accumulating users’ personal data even after they have had shut down the app. It doesn’t matter how much the company may pretend, to get us and the strict legislation off of its back, they will never win our trust again.
Mark Zuckerberg, in March 2019, said, “we've repeatedly shown that we can evolve to build the services that people want."
Now, let's see whether Facebook keeps its word this time or we witness an apologetic Mark addressing the victims again (honestly, seeing their past records, my bet is on the latter).
So, what does all of this sum up to?
For starters, no matter what they may say, stop blindly trusting brands with too much of your personal data. Always be on your toes for figuring out what applications are being too pushy with you (for your information), and remove them from your devices. I guess that's all you can do on your part, at least for now.
Since people are growing more aware and concerned about controlling their data nowadays, these companies now seem to be working towards building a better and more private future for us. Amazon and Google were on the same page as Apple when Apple denied the FBI the access to the iPhone of one of their customers (back in 2016). This is the kind of privacy consumers expect of the companies they hand over so much of their essential information to.
Booming ad businesses aren’t the only ones after your data, because so are the governments. Authorities do this to keep track of the people they want to. Our legislation are far too behind the fast-paced tech of today, which is concerning. But the companies are optimistic that it’ll catch up soon. For now, though, all we can do is not be ignorant of the countless possibilities and play it clever on our part.
MIND YOU.
The sample only shows my style of writing.
Don't you worry about the essential keywords and, more importantly, the comprehensiveness of your piece.
I've got it all covered!
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