Big tech corporations are devouring your data to line their pockets - this is why you should care

City Voices

Our reliance on smartphones has become so great that most people would struggle to get through an average day without one. They’re vital for communication, work, travel and even accessing ones own finances.

And while you go about your day, your device is working hard too, continuously tracking your every move and feeding it back to big tech providers like Google.

Whether researching an ailment, shopping for groceries, photographing precious memories or divulging your innermost secrets to a friend – your trusty device is there through it all. Watching and listening.

And feeding back to its parent company (Google). Even an inactive Android device is contacting Google 40 times an hour (increasing to 90 times an hour when in use).

Yet this probably doesn’t evoke the shock it should. There’s a collective, defeatist consent that personal information is no longer truly private information; a currency for convenience.

A YouGov / TASO survey from 2022 revealed that 77% of Brits are worried about online technology companies using their individual data — but a market dominated by a handful of conglomerates relentlessly pedalling convenience in an age of the ‘perpetually burnt-out’ means we’re sleepwalking into a privacy nightmare.

Advertisers relish the granularity of an individual’s data, relentlessly stalking consumers with an irresistible product until they acquiesce and buy, regardless of whether they can afford it. While certainly not good for one’s wallet, this merely teases the exploitation and persuasion power that mass data collection holds.

Firstly, any information harvested can potentially be used for malicious intent. In Kazakhstan, data collected by a university was leaked detailing the names, phone numbers and tax codes of every female student who was still a virgin [February 2024]. An incredibly distressing violation of privacy for the victims and their families.

Closer to home, in September 2023 the ICO announced it will conduct a review into female fertility trackers after their poll revealed 59% of women using them were concerned about how their data is used, with many concerned it was being sold to third parties without their knowledge/consent.

But what can purchasers do with this information? For one, they can target women who are struggling to conceive with content and products, capitalising on a distressing time, and desire to start a family, for profit.

On an even darker level, simply look into the Roe v Wade case, which shows how health data can be accessed by state authorities and used against the individual.

Even if the current government shows no signs of utilising such information, one must consider the future. The data collected about you now can absolutely be used against you in the future – once the data exists it cannot be truly erased.

How to take back control

By rolling out privacy features, big tech companies mislead users into a false sense of security that they have control over their data. Disabling targeted ads in your Google account doesn’t stop Google collecting information, in fact amending most privacy options only affects what you see as the end user, not what information Google can harvest.

Therefore, I recommend switching to privacy-focused alternatives to the Google products you use.

Tracking code is embedded into Google Android smartphones at operating system level – the only way to stop all tracking on their smartphones is to replace the operating system.

I used my knowledge as a software developer to create a non-profit tracker-free Android operating system,/e/OS, which can be flashed free of charge to any Android phone to replace Google. If that feels too technical, you can purchase Android smartphones with /e/OS pre-loaded from Murena.com, where we sell tracker-free Android smartphones only.

I also urge anyone using social media who is concerned about their privacy to question if it’s essential. Social media platforms are essentially just giant trackers, and often a distraction. If you must use something, I recommend Mastodon. Furthermore, Whatsapp is owned by Meta (Facebook and Instagram’s parent company) and has a chequered past for user privacy – try Telegram instead.

Finally, replace Google’s search engine with a privacy-focused alternative like Mojeek, which still offers quality results without intrusion.

Being more mindful of data privacy is similar to being more eco-conscious, in that it requires more thought to shop responsibly and recycle waste correctly, but the consequences of not doing so are far-reaching for future.

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