We think this is illegal. Marketers are spying on our phones to sell and show everything. It’s like they’re watching our every move. And it’s not just a few companies – it’s a whole industry.
According to a report by the Pew Research Center, 72% of Americans feel like they’re being watched by advertisers. And 81% of Americans say they’re concerned about the impact of data collection on their privacy.
But here’s the thing: data collection is a huge business. According to a report by Statista, the global digital advertising market was worth over $521 billion in 2021. And it’s projected to grow to over $646 billion by 2024.
So, how are marketers collecting our data? Well, for starters, they’re using our phones. According to a report by the Guardian, the average person checks their phone over 150 times per day. And every time we check our phone, marketers are collecting data on us.
They’re also using cookies to track our online activity. According to a report by the New York Times, the average website uses over 50 cookies to track user behavior. And these cookies can stay on our devices for years, collecting data on everything we do online.
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But it’s not just our phones and computers that are being tracked. According to a report by the BBC, many smart home devices, like Amazon Echo and Google Home, are constantly listening to our conversations. And they’re using that data to target us with ads.
In fact, according to a report by Forbes, the average person is exposed to over 4,000 ads per day. That’s a lot of ads. And it’s all because marketers are collecting our data and using it to target us.
So, what can we do to protect our privacy? For starters, we can use ad blockers to prevent marketers from tracking our online activity. According to a report by AdBlock Plus, over 100 million people use ad blockers to protect their privacy.
We can also use VPNs to encrypt our internet traffic. According to a report by GlobalWebIndex, over 25% of internet users use VPNs to protect their online activity.
And finally, we can be more mindful of the data we share online. According to a report by the Pew Research Center, 54% of Americans say they’re more cautious about sharing personal information online than they were five years ago.
So, let’s take back control of our data. Let’s make marketers work harder to earn our trust. And let’s demand more transparency about how our data is being used.
Here are some alarming stats to consider:
– 90% of Americans say they’re concerned about data collection ( Source: Pew Research Center)
– 75% of Americans say they don’t trust companies to protect their data ( Source:Pew Research Center)
– The average person generates over 1.7 megabytes of data per second ( Source: Forbes)
– The global data brokerage market is worth over $200 billion ( Source: Forbes)
– 80% of companies say they’re using data to drive business decisions (Source: Forbes)
It’s time to wake up and take control of our data. We deserve better.
