Why Online Tracking Is Getting Creepier

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Came across this article on which shows how online marketers are actually tracking and following potential customers, this is messed up ! Read it here- Why online tracking is getting creepier | Ars Technica
  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    That's why I use Ghostery and Noscript ...to eliminate tracking
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Aidan Noel View Post

      Came across this article on which shows how online marketers are actually tracking and following potential customers, this is messed up ! Read it here- Why online tracking is getting creepier | Ars Technica
      Did you really think the grocery store checkout lady was asking for your {zip code|phone number|email} just to be friends?

      Same goes for that 10% off your current purchase at the checkout in exchange for applying for an in-store credit card (personal info. for tracking).

      Welcome to marketing.





      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      That's why I use Ghostery and Noscript ...to eliminate tracking
      Meanwhile 150 million people in the US will never search Google for the definition of cookies.

      That reminds me of the folks that brag about blocking ads in their browsers with plugins like they're taking down The Man. Yet businesses like Google are still banking billions ($) every single year from ad revenue.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    I just got handed a new Safeway (grocery store) Club Card.
    I have not registered it and it still gives me the discounts and register coupons
    I might use. But, the insurance companies don't get to know what I eat.
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    "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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    • Profile picture of the author HeySal
      Originally Posted by bizgrower View Post

      I just got handed a new Safeway (grocery store) Club Card.
      I have not registered it and it still gives me the discounts and register coupons
      I might use. But, the insurance companies don't get to know what I eat.
      I use one of those, too, at one grocery store, but never registered it. If I buy something and tell them I don't have my card with me, they always want my phone #. I tell them to just forget it and check me out. Sometimes, if I'm using my debit card, I'll pick up something unusual that I wouldn't buy just to keep anyone from building a completely valid profile on me. Some items I will buy only with cash just to avoid tracking completely.

      The accuracy of profiles that can be built on people via electronic surveillance are extremely frightening. I don't every want to become such a creature of habit that the gov can tell where to find me at any given time on any given day or night of the week - or who I will be with at the time, what activity we'll be pursuing, if we'll be sober or not, etc.
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      Sal
      When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
      Beyond the Path

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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    The data creep and use is creepy. Yet, I still know people who cannot legally drive
    and don't believe that even small town law enforcement can read your license plate and
    get an image of the vehicle owner's drivers license, driver's license status, insurance status, and
    registration status ...
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    "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by bizgrower View Post

      The data creep and use is creepy. Yet, I still know people who cannot legally drive
      and don't believe that even small town law enforcement can read your license plate and
      get an image of the vehicle owner's drivers license, driver's license status, insurance status, and
      registration status ...
      Yeah, that is odd! Police cars are a lot like taxis. They have a console with resources to achieve the goal, and the drivers use them. With taxis today, that often includes charging for things like tolls(though I am SHOCKED they don't seem to automatically register them), and charging by the hour and mile. They also may have a system to collect payment, and maybe entertain the passengers. Police, meanwhile, outside of the siren, pa, armory, and radio, have a computer console complete with programs that even tie into a master database. But police often have an idea of who you are and what the stop may be like minutes before they approach your car. I'm almost surprised they even ask for your license. Although I don't know if their systems are generally able to handle graphics, I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

      As for the data? About 40 years ago, citicorp tried to give grocery stores full blown checkout systems. It was my understanding people revolted, and they cancelled it. NOW, a company supposedly has a near monopoly on the loyalty industry! If true, WOW! IMAGINE! They could conceivably know WHERE you are, HOW you got there, WHY you are there, WHAT you are doing, and WHEN you did it! Maybe they even know who you called! You want to avoid all that? Use cash, use no personal accounts, or communication systems you used in the past. They even know how much you paid, and what you might get in return. OH, and you can bet they have tieins with OTHER websites as well.

      Steve
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