Which companies know the most about you: based on data collection

In the Internet era, consumers seem willing to give up their privacy when using phones and computers. Clicking ‘accept’ on a cookie pop-up and ‘agree’ on terms and conditions on apps without reading any of the information is now habitual. We have, in many ways, accepted the fact that being monitored by companies and even the government is normal in today’s digital world.

It’s easy to feel paranoid about how much personal information is out there on the Internet and that companies have. But most people don’t actually know how much of their activities online are being tracked. So what data are we giving every time we click ‘accept’ and which businesses use most of it?

The Clario team conducted some research to know what type of data each app collects. They analysed 48 apps to see what permissions they ask consumers in the terms and conditions and privacy agreements.

“Each piece of information requested by any app was turned into a characteristic, totalling 34 data points which allowed us to rank what companies have the most data on their customers across sectors, and attribute a percentage of data used by the app.”

Clario

Take a look at Clario’s data collection table below:

Companies collect a range of data such as your name, date of birth and email address. Others may collect information, such as if you have pets and what your height and weight is. Some companies may also store your bank information and link to your social media as well as all the data you share on them.  

Why do companies collect data?

Typically, companies see data as a resource that can help more accurately customize their advertising and marketing campaigns. Companies use this data to target potential customers and tailor information to their wants and needs.

Unsurprisingly social media collects the most data. Facebook is the first on the list collecting 70.59% data, to recommend friends, suggest groups to join and advertise. Instagram is second with 58.82%.

Tinder and Grinder collect around the same amount of data (55.88% Tinder and 52.94% Grinder) to help you find your perfect match. Undoubtably, these dating apps know about your age, sexual orientation, height and interests. But the apps also store all the messages you send to matches, which can be then used to target advertisements and products.

Interestingly, retailers like Amazon use the least amount of data to target you (23.53%.) What it does is track mostly how you use the site. It monitors the products you look at or buy in order to promote other products.

Netflix tracks the kind of shows and films you watch so it can recommend something similar. Spotify works the same way as Netflix, recommending music, making your experience better. Netflix and Spotify use data collection in a way that consumers don’t mind, as the platform becomes better suited for each individual.

But the problem with data collection is that we don’t really know the extent of what these companies know about us and what they’re doing with this information beyond advertising. While Clario’s infographic clearly shows what data some companies have collected on consumers, there is probably much more that we are not aware of.

How to know what personal data companies have collected?

There are ways to know what some tech companies know about you.

Google

You can request the data Google has collected from you by following these steps:

1. Select the data you want included in your download archive
2. Customize your archive format (delivery method e.g, email, export type and file type)
3. Receive your Google data archive and delete the data you no longer want included in your Google account.  

Facebook

You can download the data Facebook collects about you by following these steps:

1. Sign into your account
2. Go to “privacy and settings” and choose “settings”
3. Click on “your Facebook information”
4. Click “view” located next to “download your Facebook information”
5. Select the data categories you want to see
6. Select the format, quality of photos, videos and other media, and data range
7. Click “create file” to confirm the download request

Depending on the data categories you choose, your Facebook data file may contain your photos, posts, videos and site activity.

Instagram

You can download your Instagram data by following these steps:

1. Log in to your account and go to settings
2. Click on “privacy and security”
3.  Click on “request download”
4. Provide your email address where you would like the data link emailed
5. Enter your Instagram account password when asked
6. You will receive an email with a link to your data and instructions on accessing the file