Data privacy is one of the most sensitive topics in the digital world.

Have you ever wondered why you “magically” get personalized ads only for the things you like? Are you aware that your personal data are being shared across a bunch of thirsty advertising giants? Do you want to share that information? Did you consent to share this information at all? Have you heard of the GDPR regulations?

What is GDPR?

Let’s be honest. If you are a digital marketing person or you just own a company, you’re definitely panicking about the General Data Protection Regulation, also known as GDPR. This regulation comes to fortify the jungle of data we used to live in since the last decades and protect people from a bunch of risks about getting their personal data compromised.
GDPR is not only for the “specialists” though. It is something that should concern us all to the personal level. These regulations give the end-user a better control and transparency of how their data is shared and used by advertising agents (companies or services).

People have no earthly idea what they are signing up for -Joint commerce and Judiciary Committee SH-2016

How valuable is that data?
Nowadays, data can be declared as “the new black gold” of our era. Especially for digital marketers and big companies in which a large amount of their growth and revenue depends basically on several advertising services they provide and/or apply to their end-users.
Social Media companies, such as Facebook, rely on personalized advertising. So, why is Facebook free and how do they get money? It’s easy. You are the product! Many social companies; and not only – are using your data to provide you with targeted ads, or even sell that data with an explicit or implicit way in order to somehow help the companies that want to reach you or other clients like you.

The Story behind
GDPR has come a long way. In 2012 the European Commission proposed that it was time to update the data protection regulations that were initially set back in 1995. Following a handful of discussions , in the upcoming years, GDPR was set in motion in 2016. Companies and businesses now had a two year “post-adoption grace period”. That leads us to the deadline of March 25th 2018 . After that date all companies and businesses (operating in EU or interacting with any EU citizen) should have already be operating under the GDPR standards. For those that don’t comply with the GDPR, the eugdpr.org mentions that : “Organizations can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover for breaching GDPR or €20 Million.” But do big companies, like Facebook and google, follow the GDPR protocols?

Big companies don’t comply
Nowadays, there are many proof of evidence, where big companies don’t follow the principles of the GDPR. Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, recently testified before congress about the Cambridge Analytical Scandal in which Cambridge obtained private Facebook data (around 87 million of Facebook profiles). This may have aid in several political campaigns since then. Another example is the Uber “God View” case back in 2015. That was a high profile case of data misuse. It take place when an employee at Uber, violated the company’s policy by using its God View tool in order to track a journalist who was late for an interview with an Uber exec. “God View” here refers to the ability of the company’s staff to track both Uber vehicles and customers at the same time.

Final thoughts
To conclude, every user, citizen or whatever is called, is basically a person, a human being who has the right to keep their data private or choose the data he wants to share and with whom. Free from the eyes of those big giants. Who has the right to be forgotten at any time; or simply request all kind of data someone holds on him. We’re facing a big change. Let’s hope this is for good and will wake up every single person out there.

Authors: Kyriakos Kyriakou & Andronikos Zantis

The post Get GDPR informed now! Your privacy matters. appeared first on BadFive.

With General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on sight, every company that’s affected is rushing to comply with all the rules that it enforces. Many companies that once recklessly collected massive amounts of your personal information without showing you the full picture, are now obligated to disclose exactly what they have on you.

Google ofcourse is no exception to the rule. After the recent massive backlash on Facebook and it’s surveillance like data collection, internet users now demand to know exactly what other companies know about them.

Here’s how to download your Google archive

Step 1:

Head on to: https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout

Step 2:

Select the information that you want to download and click “NEXT”. You have plenty to choose from since Google appears to know way too much about you and your whereabouts.

Step 3:

After selecting your desired delivery method, click “CREATE ARCHIVE”.

The amount of data stored by Google is massive,therefore you can expect your archive many hours or even days after your initial request.

The post How to download an archive of everything Google knows about you appeared first on BadFive.

Did you ever wonder how Facebook has managed to remain at the top for so long? What is their secret? The answer is quite simple. You. You are the main reason for their success.But you are not paying anything for their services. How can you be the reason for Facebook’s enormous income?

In order to explain this, I first need to start with a now cliché quote:

“If you’re Not Paying, You’re The Product”

What this means is that, since Facebook doesn’t have any direct revenue from your usage of their services, the only way it can make money is by manipulating your personal data in a way that helps them profit as much as possible. But how far does Facebook go with your personal data manipulation?

Starting to know each other

First let’s get the basics out of the way. You have already given Facebook information about who your friends are, what your hobbies are, how old you are, where you live and whether you are in a relationship or not.Facebook also has a clear image of what you like and dislike, your favorite movies, songs and books, as well as your overall interests. Adding to those you need to know that their app can read and store your phone number, contact details and emails.

It already sounds bad when you hear it all together but that’s nothing compared to how Facebook exploits your personal information for their own benefit. They claim to use this information to better serve you targeted advertisement but I can assure you it does not end there.

Personal Information Invasion

Stepping deeper into Facebook’s personal data mining we discover that the monitoring of their users doesn’t stop at their platform.Instead once you register to their service, Facebook starts collecting your browser and internet history.
In other words it tracts your activity on other websites recording every move you make online. Facebook then sells this information to basically anyone who is willing to pay.Rest assured that plenty of 3rd parties have already bought your personal information and proceeded to use it as they liked.

It gets a lot worse

Unfortunately Facebook’s data consumption doesn’t stop there. It gets a lot worse. From manipulating it’s users emotions to recording their private texts and conversations, Facebook does it all.

If you want to find out how much worse it gets from here, you can watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb8_mhNRsjk

The post How Facebook feeds on your private information appeared first on BadFive.