Sometimes the data gets converted into forms we don't recognize, like when it's sold to advertisers who solicit us with offers for products we don't want.
Some people feel that's a violation of their personal space.
But maybe we're losing some of our privacy because we don't really want it. First, let me draw a distinction between privacy and personhood. A legal analysis of the personal privacy issue won't please folks who think of privacy as an emotionally charged fundamental rights issue. I'm one of those fundamental rights people, too, when it comes to medical privacy. One way to illustrate that it isn't so bad for us to lose some privacy is to look at a common example of how personal data enters the broad stream of commerce.