Spyke

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When people say that apps are stealing your data, what exactly does that mean?

Data scientist here! In addition to the data points others have mentioned, there is actually a lot more data available than you would think in the form of metadata. We call the process feature engineering - essentially building a set of inputs that help determine an output, or prediction. How long you spend in the app, how long you stay on a screen before changing, how long you view a TikTok before swiping, which of the default settings you change, into what, all of this is used in machine learning models to help build a more accurate advertiser profile for you. Even if you don't volunteer data about yourself, your behavior in a way informs on you, even if you don't realize it. Through inference, a machine learning model could accurately deduce your age based on your behavior, for example.

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Google wants you to agree to a program to reduce web tracking by just letting Google have all your browsing data directly

The absolute most insidious thing about this isn't the technology at use here. It's the complete and utter normalization of ads. Google doesn't even consider a world where ads don't exist, they're pushing the narrative that they are a normal aspect of life, and they're offering to help make that more relevant to everyday users. They're normalizing ads in front of your eyeballs 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Christ I hate Google.