In a highly-connected world where your phone is always with you, information is being collected and shared every second, "So what?" you say. "I have nothing to hide. According to some experts, people may not understand the scope (范围) of the problem.
The problem is that while companies and data brokers are hovering up all the information they can, there are no laws governing what they can do with that information. Someone knowing that you ordered three extra-large pizzas for dinner last Friday night may seem harm-less enough, but there's a deeper principle at play. As cyber expert Bruce Schneier says,
"Privacy is a basic human right, and a requirement for maintaining the human condition with dignity and respect."
We click "I Agree" without reading the user agreements. We say we will do one of those privacy checkups one day. but we never quite get around to it. And that means your persona information could be used against you in the future in ways you can't imagine today.
So what can you do to protect yourself? If you're worried about your personal information getting lifted, don't hand over your name, address, or phone number easily. Besides, choose a paper receipt or no receipt rather than getting one via text or e-mail. To stop your phone acting as a tracker, also turn off Location Services for all apps except maps and others that expressly need to know where you are. You can do this in settings, under Privacy and Location.
A. Don't be so sure.
B. Yet we do little to block the spies.
C. Care about who owns and controls the data.
D. We don't want to prevent all Internet spying.
E. Privacy is not just about freedom from embarrassment.
F. You can minimize some unwanted spying by taking these measures.
G. That includes things you thought were private, such as your health data, beliefs and daily habits.
