Technology companies are plagued with allegations of poor protection of their customers´ personal information, including a New York Times report detailing the tracking of phone applications to user sites.
Some companies, notably Apple, have begun to promote the fact that they sell products and services that protect user privacy.
Smartphone users (never) are not asked to see if they agree to follow them a moment or a minute daily. However, cellular companies, smart phone makers, application developers and social networking companies claim to have user permission to conduct semi-static personal surveillance.
The main problem is that most individuals do not understand how the tracking system actually works.
It did not help technology companies inform and educate their customers about this. In fact, it deliberately blocked important details for building a multibillion-dollar data economy based on a morally dubious concept of consent.
Most companies disclose privacy practices in their privacy policy. Most programs require users to click the Accept Terms option before using the program.
However, people do not always have the freedom to choose, since the customer can not use the service unless he agrees to the terms.
Any user wants to understand what policies are in place, with "buried" details in long legal documents that are almost unreadable, perhaps with the exception of the lawyers who helped develop them.
Often, these policies begin with a comprehensive statement such as "Your privacy is important to us". However, the actual terms describe a completely different reality.
It is usually unreasonable to say that a company can act on your personal information as often as you want, as long as it informed you.
There are some cases where mobile phone companies, such as Apple and Google, allow users to exercise some control over data collection. For example, corporate phone operating systems allow users to turn off location services, such as GPS.
Ideally, this feature prevents most apps from tracking your site, but this does not always happen.
When managing iOS app franchises, users can choose to track app for phone location "Always," "While using the app," or "Never." But changing your settings can result in an unsolicited message saying, "We need your location information to improve your experience," according to an app.
Many users may be unaware that even when their names and contact information are removed from the site´s data, the site´s records can reveal the addresses of their homes and places they visit most, as well as evidence of their identities, medical condition, and personal relationships.
Corporate privacy policies, and their default privacy settings, seem to have created an environment that does not allow users to know that their lives are being closely monitored. They also do not realize that information, which can be individually identified, is resold to create more targeted ads.
However, companies can legally claim that everyone has agreed to their policies.
In this regard, users should know how to protect their privacy by following these suggestions:
- Learn how to turn off location services on iPhone and Android phones
- Run the site only when using an application that needs this service, such as maps
- Avoid applications like Facebook Mobile, which are looking for as much personal information as possible.
