Terrifying truth of how much big firms snoop on YOU (and how to stop them)

YoU may think you are good at keeping your personal life private and are careful not to give away too much information online.

But as digital services take over more and more areas of our lives, companies are amassing vast treasure troves of data about us — often without our knowledge.

We inadvertently give away details about ourselves just by browsing the internet on our computers or smartphones.

over time, businesses can build up a detailed picture of who we are, what we like, where we live and shop, and our daily habits — all by tracking us as we move from web page to web page.

Sometimes giving companies your data like this can be useful. For example, it can allow a website to remember items you have added to your online shopping basket. that way you don’t have to start again each time you go browsing for another item.

But most websites want to track users for one key reason: so that they can target us with advertising.

Griff Ferris, legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch, says: ‘information on people’s online activities is extremely lucrative for internet companies, whose business models are based on selling this information for targeted advertising.

‘But people may be unaware of the extent of the information they give away when browsing or accessing online services, or how that information is used to profile and target them.’

one of the signs that you’re being tracked is the advertisements that appear as you use the internet. For example, if you have been shopping for trainers on one website, you may find you suddenly see more advertisements for trainers on other, seemingly unrelated websites.

this is thanks to something called ‘cookies’ — pieces of information sent to your computer or smartphone by the website you’re visiting. they can then be accessed by that website every time you return.

But they can also be accessed by a whole network of advertisers, who can see exactly what you’ve been doing online and tailor the products they display to you.

Here, we explain exactly how and where your privacy is at risk when you use the internet.

SHOPS THAT SPY ON YOUR HABITS

RETAILERS often use information about our browsing history to work out what items we are most likely to buy — and which special offers to display to us.

Richard Hyman, a retail expert who has advised companies such as Marks & Spencer and debenhams, says: ‘Retailers now have more data than ever about consumers available to them and it’s all about one thing: driving sales.’

When you visit a retailer’s website, it will learn basic things about you such as the last website you viewed and your location. Using cookies and other methods, it may also remember what you have bought in the past and more details about your browsing habits.

Many companies may share information about you with their commercial partners. this could include what times you like to shop online, which items you looked at and whether you bought something.

tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket chain, passes on data to partners such as Google, Adobe and a little-known advertising firm called optimizely.

Another way shops keep track of your spending habits is with loyalty cards. these often give you points that turn into money- off vouchers you can use in-store.

But the real value to the retailer is the detailed information they can collect on what type of customer you are.

Every time you use your loyalty card, you give them information about what you bought.

DETAILS INSURERS DEMAND TO KNOW

INSURERS are privy to some of our most intimate personal details. to get home insurance policies or cover for our cars, we are asked to provide information about our credit history, how valuable our homes and belongings are, our age, marital status and — if we want life insurance — a history of our health.

With potentially billions at risk, companies hold this information so they can make educated guesses about you before they sell cover.

For instance, younger, less experienced drivers are statistically more likely than other adults to have a road accident and so are asked to pay higher premiums.

But insurers also take advantage of technology to learn more about their customers. Some have suggested they could use so- called personality profiling techniques, looking at people’s social media posts to offer discounts.

Admiral, one of the UK’s biggest insurers, at one stage tried this through its Firstcarquote business. After asking customers to log in to its website using their Facebook accounts, the firm claimed it could scan their posts.

it explained at the time: ‘it’s scientifically proven some personalities are more likely to have an accident than others.

‘We look at a driver’s personality by analysing some of their Facebook data.’

However, it reversed its plans when Facebook said it broke privacy rules. Admiral has since launched a scaled-back version of the service, which only collects basic information such as a customer’s name, age, email address and gender.

Privacy international, which campaigns to raise awareness about data, says: ‘Facebook’s policy may have prevented access to people’s posts on this occasion, but the use of social media

data to make predictions and decisions about people in the insurance sector is developing.’

BANKS SHARING YOUR SECRETS

Your bank has a complete history of any transaction you make using a credit or debit card.

That includes who you bought a product from, what time the purchase was made and how much it came to. under open Banking reforms introduced this year, banks are now able to share more information about your spending habits, how often you go into your overdraft and other details with lenders and other third party websites — if you give permission.

This may help you get a better mortgage deal, for example.

The reforms are also supposed to make it quicker and easier to switch banks. Companies can only use the details banks give them for the purpose you have chosen.

Meanwhile, some smartphone apps can now be given permission to look at your current account and analyse ways you can save money.

RISKS OF CLICKING A ‘LIKE’ BUTTON

TECHNOLOGY companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter play an increasingly large part in modern life. Whether we are searching the web or posting pictures for friends to look at, few people can avoid running into these firms at some point.

Google lists ways it uses people’s data on its website. It records things that you search for, websites you visit, videos you watch, ads you click on, your location and information about the type of digital device you are using.

Complex algorithms — which are sets of rules used by machines to reason, make decisions and carry out calculations — then use this information to help refine your search results.

They also make suggestions about other things you may be interested in and show you advertisements that are relevant to you.

Google says these things would not work as well without the information it collects.

Facebook also uses information it knows about you to help companies show advertisements to specific groups of people.

For example, a company wanting to advertise its product to people of a certain age group in a specific city can make sure its ads only appear to those people.

Facebook can also track you even after you leave the social network’s website, through its ‘Like’ buttons which appear on many websites.

Even if you do not click them, the buttons on the page can still transmit data to Facebook about your activities online.