While we are made to believe that we rely heavily on major
software companies to connect with each other and enhance our productivity, the
truth is that these companies such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and
other web companies are thriving mainly on information we voluntarily or
involuntarily give out about ourselves.
This information is turned into profits and everyday new methods are being employed to push the bound of our trust. Some may argue that the data collected about us is in exchange for the free web services we enjoy, the information is gathered, analysed and used to predict our interests and ultimately their targeted adverts. Well, you may say, this is harmless but using a subscriber as an unknowing pawn to conduct sociological research and is ultimately for their profit is still a debated topic (for another day).
When did you volunteered to give out such massive
information about yourself? You may ask. That was the moment you found the ‘I
agree’ button and click on it. That gives them the power use the information
you thought you were sharing with a close friend on the social network to
research on your personal life.
There is a saying among privacy advocates that when the
product is free, users are the product. We are the product that advertisers are
paying for and the more they know about you, the more profit they make. Almost
all the web service companies are jumping over each other in a bid to capture
as much personal database as they could through app store registrations, social
networking, apps asking to sync your contacts for easier integration. The
reality is that every information you sync is automatically uploaded to the
service provider’s servers and stay there forever and ever even if you
unsubscribe.
All these are hidden in the maze of small, tight-spacing
characters that span 10 pages of terms of service or privacy policies all in a
bid to make it almost impossible to determine how the service we request manage
our data and what they might do with it. However, even if it was made clear and
simple, the services are always provided on a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ terms. And
we all know we need the services.
Nevertheless, we, to some extent, trust the web service
providers on the privacy of our information. But what if it falls into the
wrong hands? Though we must agree to the terms of services in order to use the
services, but we can limit our exposure level bearing in mind that the in
cyberspace, anybody could be ‘Big Brother’ and they are always watching.
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