hello! a week 2 reflection post? yah, a little late; but better late than never!
this week was an interesting one, where we discussed the topic of DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS and DATA TRACKING. those are some very scary words. we looked at a few example websites that showed just how much personal, and behavioral data that we allow them access to.
the first site i checked out was clickclickclick. this one was weird. this site basically narrates what you, the user are doing; and i mean literally narrates it, there’s a man talking constantly. there’s some fun things to do on this site however, they include an achievements tab where you can track just how much they are tracking you; funny. overall, its an interesting look at how websites can track literally the most mundane things like how fast you move your mouse.
next up, i took a look at sinceyouarrived. this site opens a bit ominously, presumable by design. a dark tab telling you all the information its gathered from you, simply by entering the site; where i am, when i arrived, where i came from, my computers specs, even my language! now, if the creepy guy constantly referring to you as subject wasn’t enough to concern you, this is. it makes you think just how many sites you’ve shared all this info with, and who might be keeping it… i’m not sure, google has it all anyways…
lastly, i took a peek at privacy.net. much like sinceyouarrived, this site highlights all the information you’re just freely handing out, albeit in a bit of a less scary presentation.
among the links to look at this week, it was also said to look at google maps timeline. now, i didn’t have time to do this, but i have, in the past done it, and let me tell you, my point from earlier stands. my entire day, tracked and mapped; odd.
i think i should probably be more concerned on how much data i freely give away, but at the end of the day, it almost feels helpless. sure there are things i can do to avoid sharing unnecessary information about myself, which ill take action to do, but things will seep through the cracks no matter what, and i just have to hope it doesn’t come back and bite me!