Which Company Uses the Most of Your Data?
We analysed what personal data the world’s biggest brands are tracking to discover which company knows the most about us.
What brands are using weird and wonderful pieces of information to target you? We thought we’d find out. By compiling some of the world’s most-used apps and the data they take from you, we’ve characterised the companies that are using your identity the most.
We all do it – click ‘accept’ on a cookie pop-up without reading any of the information, just so we can see a website sooner. It’s almost become second nature, with those little boxes getting in the way of what we actually want to do.
But what do cookie pop-ups actually give websites access to? What data are we giving up everytime we click ‘accept’, and which businesses use the most of it?
The kind of data companies can collect ranges from the things you might expect – like your name, date of birth and email address – to the more obscure, like your pets, hobbies, height, weight and even what you like to get up to in the bedroom. They can also store your bank information, as well as links to your social media accounts and the data you share on them.
What they do with that data will differ depending on what kind of business they are, but often it will result in targeted advertising and website management.
Top of the list for data collectors is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Facebook. As a social network, they depend on you giving them access to all your details so they can recommend friends to you, let people know it’s your birthday, suggest groups for you to join and, most importantly, advertise to you.
Ads are how Facebook makes the most of their money – around $16.6 billion to be precise, based on their 2018 reports – so the more they know about you, the more they can sell on. As well as the usual, such as your name, location, email address and date of birth, they also collect a whole load of things you might not be aware you gave away.
In fact, out of all the data a business can legally collect about you, Facebook collects 70.59%.
Instagram comes next in the list. The Facebook-owned app collects 58.82% of all available data, such as your hobbies, height, weight and sexual orientation. Like their owners, they use most of this information for advertising and recommending accounts you should follow.
Dating app Tinder collects 55.88% of available data to help match you with your perfect partner. As well as knowing about your age, sexual orientation, height, interests and if you own a pet! It also stores your bank details, making it easier to upsell you its premium option. Tinder Plus gives you unlimited likes, and the chance to swipe back just in case you’ve missed the love of your life.
However, beyond trying to get you coupled up, Tinder also tracks how you use different social media platforms if you link your accounts. It also stores all the messages you send to matches, meaning all your flirty chats can be used to target you with advertisements and products.
If you see an ad for a very niche kind of toy pop up, now you know why.
Retailers like Amazon use the LEAST amount of data to target you
Despite being the biggest online retailer in the world, (and spending around $11 billion on advertising in 2019,) Amazon only collects a fraction of data compared to other businesses, 23.53%.
Beyond the obvious things, like your name, email address, home address and bank details, it collects little else other than what it needs to run its business.
What it does do is track how you use its site.
