Data Tracking and Privacy

## Overview

With the shift to Web 3.0 and the semantic web, every individual is being tracked. There are different types of tracking. Some companies track what an individual searches and views on the Internet or on their smartphone and target advertisements and products towards them, like Amazon. Other companies track information and sell it to other companies, like advertising agencies.

A data privacy survey by Ovum showed that 75 percent of the people who used the internet were aware of the data being tracked. [2] Companies track user's data and information, and some view this as an obstruction of privacy.

## How Companies Track

As soon as an individual enters the Web, they are being tracked from the moment they 'log on' to the moment they 'sign off'.

A user's IP address, the binary digits assigned to a computer by your Internet provider, can provide website owners with personal information your oneself (approximate location including city, suburb and state, what type of operating system you use, etc.). [3]

Google is one of the more recent companies that show how an individuals data is being tracked. Google Now is comparative to {{#NewWindowLink: https://www.apple.com/ios/siri/ | Apple's Siri}}, but Google Now learns habits and behaviors and shares recommendations to the user about extremely specific things that user is interested in. [6]

### **Facebook is a big contributor to data tracking on the web**

Facebook is a social networking site that is notorious for tracking it's user's movements. When a user logs in, Facebook inserts a "{{#NewWindowLink: http://www.20thingsilearned.com/en-US/browser-cookies | browser cookie}}" and "session cookie" into your web browser. When you sign in, the session cookie is activated. This tracks and also logs, name, e-mail addresses of friends, user preferences, etc. It also tracks IP addresses, screen resolutions, times, dates, etc. [5]

## Why Companies Track

**Advertisemen**t: Companies use your information to advertise. Depending on what a person searches, the advertisements that pop up on the side of the browser or that get e-mailed to them are a direct result of data tracking. Amazon is the company most notorious for data tracking.

In an article from the {{#NewWindowLink: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/technology/10privacy.html | New York Times}} about how companies track information, Louise Story said, "anybody who searches for information on such disparate topics as iron supplements, airlines, hotels and soft drinks may see ads for those products and services later on." [4] He continues in saying that some consumers have not complained about this data tracking because they are not even aware that it is happening. [4]

**Boosting Security:** Certain sites, like {{#NewWindowLink: http://www.facebook.com+ | Facebook}}, claim that this type of tracking helps them identify and block 'fake' accounts, phishing scams, and viral weblinks. [5]

## Do Not Track

in 2007 the idea of '{{#NewWindowLink: http://donottrack.us/ | Do Not Track}}' was a response to the online tracking and targeted advertising. Originally,the idea was similar to that of the '{{#NewWindowLink: https://www.donotcall.gov/ | Do Not Call}}' lists. The proposal has evolved since then, and is currently being debated in Congress, at the FTC, and among advocacy groups and industry. [1]

Do Not Track allows users to choose not to be tracked by websites they do not visit, like advertising agencies, analytic services, social networks, etc. There are now more efforts to stop data tracking, like Data Privacy Day, and there is software available to help prevent companies from tracking data.

## Sources

1. EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center. (n.d.).Retrieved April 1, 2015, from https://epic.org/privacy/consumer/online\_tracking\_and\_behavioral.html.
2. Strickland, J. (2013, February 8). Data Tracking: A Double-Edged Sword? Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://www.inc.com/julie-strickland/data-online-consumers-marketers-.html
3. How companies collect your private information when you browse online. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://www.reputation.com/reputationwatch/articles/how-companies-collect-manage-and-use-your-private-information-when-you-browse-online
4. Story, L. (2008, March 9). To Aim Ads, Web Is Keeping Closer Eye on You. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/technology/10privacy.html
5. Hameed, B. (2011, November 17). How Facebook Tracks Users Across the Web Even When They Are Logged Out. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://techow.net/2011/11/17/how-facebook-tracks-users-across-the-web-even-when-they-are-logged-out/
6. Hill, S. (2014, July 28). How to get the best out of Google Now. Retrieved April 4, 2015, from http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-use-google-now/