For this assignment I originally thought that there would be little to no data on my locations and things of that nature because I typically always make sure that I select the option for not tracking me, when signing up for things. So when I looked at Google Maps and Facebook to see what information they had about me, I was not surprised really. However, I did seem to never turn off my location settings for Apple Maps. When I opened this I was very surprised and unsettled about the amount of information that they had on me. Quite literally, they had every location I had been with my phone, since I had gotten my phone. We are talking hundreds and thousands of locations all across the country, with pinpoint accuracy.
To me, this extremely unsettling. Yes, right now the information is doing no harm by simply being there in my phone, however the question is what damage could this information potentially do? What if someone hacked into my phone and was able to determine where I lived and the places that I most commonly go to? What if they decide to use this information for evil means and potentially harming me? These are all very serious questions that ran through my head at the discovery of this information.
My even bigger question is what does this provide for Apple? What do they have to gain from knowing my current location at all times and where I have ever been with my phone? Again this is very unsettling to me. As to Facebook I am aware that they use my browsing history to make ads that are suitable to my needs. I don’t particularly have a problem with this because ads can be useful to myself as a consumer. However, my I wonder if they use this information for other things, other than ads.
As to the final question, the possibilities of my digital footprint are most certainly endless, that these links do not show. I am sure that somewhere, there is a footprint of everything I have ever done using technology on the internet. This again is unsettling because most people would like to think that while using technology that there would be certain amount of privacy that is required. All in all, this was a very eye-opening experience to see how much the internet truly does know about me.
No comments:
Post a Comment