Why Should You Care?
You may not care about the philosophical reasons for privacy, but the real world implications are tangible. Stock Google phones, as an example, come pre-installed with Google Photos. Every photo you take is uploaded to Google's servers, where it can be scanned and indexed along with metadata such as the location it was taken.
This can have serious consequences. In one well known case,
a father sent photos of his child's medical condition to a family doctor.
Google's automated systems incorrectly identified the images as child sexual abuse material,
permanently deleted his Google account, reported him to the authorities,
triggering a police investigation. Although the investigation was eventually dismissed,
all of the data associated with his account was permanently lost.
Read the archived New York Times article
.
Another example involved facial recognition technology.
A flaw in the matching algorithm incorrectly identified an innocent man
as a suspect for theft in a state he had never visited. He was arrested,
spent a week in jail, and incurred thousands of dollars layer fees to correct
the mistake of a algorithm. Large portions of the imagery uploaded to social
media is aggregated into massive databases that companies use to develop facial
recognition systems and other surveillance technologies which are generally sold
to goverment bodies but are not limited to them.
Read archived article
Your Data Has Value
Data is extremely valuable. Companies do not offer free services simply out of kindness they collect information to build detailed profiles of individuals powered by invasive practices. While targeted advertising is the most familiar example, data is also used for dynamic pricing. Algorithms can estimate the highest price you're likely to pay based on factors such as your occupation, income, age, purchasing habits, race, personality, financial status the list goes on. This technology is has been largely adopted by ecommerce.
Tracking Is Everywhere
Websites, mobile apps, advertising networks, and analytics platforms constantly collect information through cookies, device identifiers, location services, and behavioural tracking. Even when you're not actively using your phone, background services may continue transmitting information about your activity and location.
Protecting Your Privacy
Using privacy focused software such as GrapheneOS, limiting application permissions, choosing encrypted messaging services, and reducing unnecessary tracking can dramatically reduce the amount of personal information collected about you without sacrificing the features of a modern smartphone.