#MappingMyData – Is It Time For A Data Detox?

Other than our weekly food shops, almost everything that I purchase is via the internet and therefore via my credit card or the likes of PayPal and though I try to keep my data as secure as possible, even I, an experienced online shopper have found myself in peril at points.

The world of internet shopping is so easy, though from the moment that you so much as type what you fancy buying your data is being tracked and you’ll most likely notice advertisements for the things which you may be more inclined to purchase popping up almost everywhere whilst using your computer. This is not only due to the cookies (not the edible kind sadly) which leave traces and tracks as you trawl the internet but also the data which almost every site now collects on you.

Having spent a few hours earlier this week looking for a new dressing table, I’ve since been plagued with endless advertisements for various furniture stores, though I’ve still not found ‘the one’ as of yet, though I’m certain the advertisements will continue to pop up for the foreseeable.

Since the introduction of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in 2017, data protection laws within the UK and across Europe have strengthened somewhat as users now have the rights to ask any company for a copy of any personal data that they may hold upon them, enquire as to what it may be used for and to request for its deletion. In technical terms, this means that if you are being plagued with unsuitable or annoying targeted advertising, a digital/ data detox could well be the way to go…

Before you consider this, you will need to know precisely which brands know what and Rightly have created detailed data maps giving you a glance at what kind of information different industries, businesses and brands may have on you. This can in turn help you to decide which areas of your digital life you may wish to detox upon. Rightly have even produced data visualisations of what information some of the biggest brand names in the twelve largest industries store.

Whilst it may come as no big surprise that online retailers use your basic data (such as your age, gender, location and such-like) as a way to target advertising, did you know that some of the larger brands, including Amazon, eBay, and ASOS even harvest data from other sources such as your social profiles in order to gain even further knowledge upon your personal preferences? It’s quite scary really…

It’s not just businesses, social media and shopping that likes to share, it’s also streaming services, dating platforms, food delivery apps, healthcare sites, and even our trusted payment sources such as Paypal (who actually use data upon your past purchases to assist targeted promotions). Our data, as British mathematician Clive Humby famously said ‘is the new oil’ and it’s not hard to see why…