Apps and Sites That You Didn’t Know Are Selling Your Data
It might come as a surprise what sites or apps act as data broker sites,
collecting and selling your personal information—often without your
direct knowledge. Knowing how to remove personal information from Google can help, as can being proactive and not providing more information than necessary.
Credit Bureaus
Credit bureaus, as a matter of course, collect information to provide a credit score. They sell this information in two significant ways: borrower history and pre-approval marketing. The first sees credit bureaus selling your transaction information, with a history of your debt payments. If you missed a car payment one month, it’s in your file. Lenders pay more for these reports, as it helps them decide whether to offer you, for example, a mortgage loan. The credit bureaus include analytics on your payment history, so buyers can see how you interact with your various debts.
The second way that credit bureaus sell your information is in pre-approval lists. They’re the reason that you’re constantly getting junk mail with pre-approved credit card offers. Credit card companies buy your data in order to directly market their credit cards to you, based on what the credit bureaus will approve you for.
Department of Motor Vehicles
DMVs in multiple states have been selling personal information to a range of entities, including credit bureaus and private investigators. Under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, this is perfectly legal. The data can include name and address, and depending on the state, your zip code, date of birth, phone number, and email address. The DMV will deny access to information if the entity in question abuses the information.
Email Applications
It’s common knowledge that search engines collect information on what and how you search. However, if you use email applications, your emails are also scanned for information, particularly for selling to targeted ad campaigns. The information collection does not stop there. A Google search for “When should I pay my bills?” will display results only available to you with the date of your next bill and the current balance. These are pulled from emails from your bank in your Gmail account. While you would typically need to opt out of data broker sites to remove personal information from Google, you can often simply change privacy settings to stop your email service from scanning your emails. With Gmail, you’ll have to go to your Google account page to access these settings.
Map Applications
Plugging in an address or search into a map application can help you find a destination, but the app is also often collecting information on you. Some apps track where you live, what businesses you visit, and how long you stay in a location. Cross-referencing your searches across platforms helps to build a better profile of you, and that data helps advertisers interested in your demographic show ads to you. You can turn off location settings per app on your phone, and most apps offer an option to toggle location reporting.
Keeping Information Private
Keeping your personal information private is challenging in the information age. It’s all too easy for apps and sites to capture data about you and sell your personal details. Fortunately, data broker sites allow for opting out, which can help keep your personal data private. It can be an involved process, taking time and energy, but there are services, such as DeleteMe, that will do it for you. If you are concerned about your personal data, opt out of data broker sites with a DeleteMe subscription and check privacy settings for each app, service, and site you use.
About DeleteMe
DeleteMe has set a high standard in the online privacy and information security industries with their efficient, effective internet privacy strategies. Based in Boston, their expert privacy team uses proprietary technology and in-depth knowledge of opt-out and privacy policies to remove your personal details from data broker sites. DeleteMe has successfully completed more than 20 million consumer opt-outs to date and can help with data removal from Whitepages and over 30 of the other biggest data broker sites. Ensure your personal information stays private year-round with a DeleteMe subscription.
Learn more about keeping your information private at Joindeleteme.com
Credit Bureaus
Credit bureaus, as a matter of course, collect information to provide a credit score. They sell this information in two significant ways: borrower history and pre-approval marketing. The first sees credit bureaus selling your transaction information, with a history of your debt payments. If you missed a car payment one month, it’s in your file. Lenders pay more for these reports, as it helps them decide whether to offer you, for example, a mortgage loan. The credit bureaus include analytics on your payment history, so buyers can see how you interact with your various debts.
The second way that credit bureaus sell your information is in pre-approval lists. They’re the reason that you’re constantly getting junk mail with pre-approved credit card offers. Credit card companies buy your data in order to directly market their credit cards to you, based on what the credit bureaus will approve you for.
Department of Motor Vehicles
DMVs in multiple states have been selling personal information to a range of entities, including credit bureaus and private investigators. Under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, this is perfectly legal. The data can include name and address, and depending on the state, your zip code, date of birth, phone number, and email address. The DMV will deny access to information if the entity in question abuses the information.
Email Applications
It’s common knowledge that search engines collect information on what and how you search. However, if you use email applications, your emails are also scanned for information, particularly for selling to targeted ad campaigns. The information collection does not stop there. A Google search for “When should I pay my bills?” will display results only available to you with the date of your next bill and the current balance. These are pulled from emails from your bank in your Gmail account. While you would typically need to opt out of data broker sites to remove personal information from Google, you can often simply change privacy settings to stop your email service from scanning your emails. With Gmail, you’ll have to go to your Google account page to access these settings.
Map Applications
Plugging in an address or search into a map application can help you find a destination, but the app is also often collecting information on you. Some apps track where you live, what businesses you visit, and how long you stay in a location. Cross-referencing your searches across platforms helps to build a better profile of you, and that data helps advertisers interested in your demographic show ads to you. You can turn off location settings per app on your phone, and most apps offer an option to toggle location reporting.
Keeping Information Private
Keeping your personal information private is challenging in the information age. It’s all too easy for apps and sites to capture data about you and sell your personal details. Fortunately, data broker sites allow for opting out, which can help keep your personal data private. It can be an involved process, taking time and energy, but there are services, such as DeleteMe, that will do it for you. If you are concerned about your personal data, opt out of data broker sites with a DeleteMe subscription and check privacy settings for each app, service, and site you use.
About DeleteMe
DeleteMe has set a high standard in the online privacy and information security industries with their efficient, effective internet privacy strategies. Based in Boston, their expert privacy team uses proprietary technology and in-depth knowledge of opt-out and privacy policies to remove your personal details from data broker sites. DeleteMe has successfully completed more than 20 million consumer opt-outs to date and can help with data removal from Whitepages and over 30 of the other biggest data broker sites. Ensure your personal information stays private year-round with a DeleteMe subscription.
Learn more about keeping your information private at Joindeleteme.com
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