This is about the time of year when most people’s enthusiasm for their New Year’s resolutions starts to wear off. Gym visits decline, diets get less strict, and those screen time goals we set with much determination have likely already been broken.
But if you are one of those who decided 2026 will be the year you take control of your online privacy, then keeping a resolution has never been simpler …
Data brokers are selling your personal data
Data brokers sell your personal data every day of the year. They can purchase data files containing everything from your web-browsing habits and interests to your location history and then offer it for resale. The holidays are a time when people are particularly active online, giving brokers new opportunities to refresh the data they have available on you.
How does this happen? Every time we register with a website or using a new app, we will typically be required to check a box saying that we agree to the privacy policy. Most of us never read it, but even if we did, it likely wouldn’t help much.
These lengthy texts are deliberately vague, using phrases like “we will share your data with selected partners.” It’s not at all obvious that this means they will sell it to data brokers who will in turn resell it to their customers.
The least-worst case is that your personal data is purchased by companies wanting to target you with ads. In the worst case, hackers gain access to that data, where it is made available to scammers and identity thieves. In the days of highly convincing deepfake videos, a scammer who has personal data you think is known only to you and your loved ones can be extremely dangerous.
Takedown requests
By law, data brokers have to remove your data if you tell them to, which is done using what’s known as a takedown request. However, this isn’t easy. Companies deliberately make these links hard to find, and force you to jump through lots of hoops in order to issue requests. Some of them even break the law by not providing the links in the first place.
Even when you succeed, your victory will likely be short-lived. New data is purchased and added all of the time, so you would need to repeatedly issue the same takedown requests to the same companies in a never-ending cycle.
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