Your online personal data is scattered all over the web. Every time you
sign up for a new social media platform or purchase something online, you
give those companies bits and pieces of your personal data.

These pieces of your data are then collected by both companies and data
brokers -- which then sell it to other companies that can use your info to
sell ads targeted at you. If you've given out your online data liberally,
you're paying for it now with ads that track you across the internet.

The fix to this can be somewhat complicated and confusing. Consumer
Reports, however, has an app called Permission Slip that reaches out to
companies on your behalf and orders them to stop selling your information.

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/regain-control-of-your-data-in-2024-and-delete-your-digital-history-heres-how-to-do-it/

On 7/1/2024, badgolferman wrote:

> Your online personal data is scattered all over the web. Every time you
> sign up for a new social media platform or purchase something online, you
> give those companies bits and pieces of your personal data.

When signing up, if you use a privacy browser, you don't give it to them.
As long as you don't sign up for multi-factor authorization, you're OK.
> These pieces of your data are then collected by both companies and data
> brokers -- which then sell it to other companies that can use your info to
> sell ads targeted at you. If you've given out your online data liberally,
> you're paying for it now with ads that track you across the internet.

Most of those privacy browsers (if not all) will block all those ads.

> The fix to this can be somewhat complicated and confusing.

One fix, at least for the social sites, is to not put personal information
into the site, where every photo you upload points to your exact camera.

> Consumer Reports, however, has an app called Permission Slip that reaches out to
> companies on your behalf and orders them to stop selling your information.
>
> https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/regain-control-of-your-data-in-2024-and-delete-your-digital-history-heres-how-to-do-it/

It looks like you sign up for the Permission Slip service for each email
address and then you're presented with companies that collect & sell it.

The sentences that are a bit worrisome though are "Permission Slip will ask
you a couple of questions that can help companies and data brokers
correctly identify you and properly take care of your information. After
you input your personal info the first time, the process for continuing to
remove your data is pretty simple. You will just scroll through Permission
Slip's suggestions, select companies that might have your info and then
delete your account or prohibit the company from using your data."

I guess it's like that Do Not Call registry where you have to tell them who
you are in order for them to not sell who you are. I trust CR though.

On Sun, 7 Jan 2024 01:48:23 -0000 (UTC), badgolferman
<REMOVETHISbadgolferman@gmail.com> wrote:

>These pieces of your data are then collected by both companies and data
>brokers -- which then sell it to other companies that can use your info to
>sell ads targeted at you.

The alternative is to protect your personal data and hide it so that
companies don't know anything about you. The ads you'll then receive
will be of no relevance or interest to you. I know which I'd prefer.