Chapter Ten

You weren’t exaggerating; this chapter is primarily about terminology and definitions, but there’s a bit of interesting discussion to be had about Privacy and Data Policies. Namely, the concept of positive data tracking and the “Do Not Track” function, having become so much more accessible over the years, are a pinch point in a lot of people’s daily lives, especially when it comes to devices “hearing you” when they’re inactive. Naturally, the concern that information is constantly being collected and sent around frightens people, but it’s not all for malicious purposes (as the chapter says). Personalizing your experience online is extremely beneficial and convenient, as you’re going to see content that interests you instead of filler or random articles; for example, YouTube always recommends related items to videos you’ve click on and actually watched at length, which means you’re going to be shown more content you’ve enjoyed. That’s awesome!

What’s much less awesome is when sites collect your personal information and broker it off to anyone interested in retrieving your location or contact information to solicit you. Telemarketing, scamming, phishing, and all these other methods of harassment feed off this sold or leaked information that gets tracked by websites, which really pushes towards asking sites to not track you. There are even Incognito features in every browser, which deletes your local cookies and history, but some browsers offer built-in VPNs or other system-hiding programs to keep you almost fully anonymous online; obviously, if you use your Facebook account on the VPN, they’re still going to get your information, but general internet streaming and searching won’t draw back to you this way. It’s a slippery slope if you go to extremes, but data tracking really doesn’t feel totally terrible in most cases.