Ways people exchange privacy for convenience...

Heya folks,

I'm still writing my paper that I talked about a couple of months ago, and I'm looking for ideas on how people normally exchange privacy for convenience. For example, I have the following:

Frequent Flyer programs on airplanes - you get "rewards" (convenience) in exchange for their tracking your flights (giving up privacy).

Amazon.com and its "recommended items" bit - getting nice, fun recommendations to what you would likely enjoy (convenience) in exchange for your enabling of cookies to use Amazon's site, enabling them to track you (giving up privacy).

So, I guess you get the idea... do any of you have any examples that I might include in my paper that goes along these same lines? I've got a lot so far.. too many to list here.. but do give me any input you might have, even if it seems very obvious.

Thanks in advance!

those 'loyalty' cards that the supermarkets and petrol stations give out
you get 'points' for each purchase
they get to build up a profile on you and your shopping / driving habits

not to mention the CC industry
and all the data they get in exchange for giving us easy credit

Good Day

Providing your email addee for acquiring almost any gizmo, pretty soon you have 30 different ways
to enlarge your penis.

Accepting site cookies can be as huge as the membership cards that Foxy mentioned, and obviously
track your habits as well.

Sending in for your rebates, obviously you must provide your snail mail address. I'm starting to receive
tons of junk mail that we weren't receiving before.

cheers

to follow on :
RFID has one other effect
in that it is possible to track the goods once they have left the shop :eek:

not only your shopping habits, but your driving too

Entering competitions
you get a [very small] chance of winning big
they get all the details they require by making thm part of the 'required' section on the forms

Super, thank you guys so much for the ideas... I didn't have a few of these in my example list, so this is proving very helpful.

Anyone else who has more to input, feel free to. :)

Hi jehnx,

Well...giving out your personal information to forums like this one...

or to sites like Paypal...Google Adsense...ISP...telephone, electric, cable, gas company, etc...

health cards, library cards, social security number ( and on job applications ) even if you don't get the job...

Eg ;)

How about free 'home delivery' by shops?? or even pizza delivery (mmmm :-) )

Yeah... last time I went to pizzahut.com, they asked me if I would like to place the same order as last time.


The man is tryin to keep me down so he can shove an RFID device up my ass.


(I said no, then unknowingly ordered the exact same thing)

I don't know if this applies or if anything is done with the information but all cellular phones in the US have GPS units in them that give out information if you have the access to them.

On a non conspiracy side. The website that was flying around on here for a while about getting a started pack from the NSA was used for trending information. I believe a certain member here could attest to that.

The keycard you get at a gym tracks when you come and go. Also all the free magazines I receive based on the title I have at work or the one I signed up for that turned into 10 different weekly magazines.

Edit:

I forgot to mention the lil service warranty cards that come with your electronics, if you fill those out and turn them in they track that crap too, or if you purchase one from the store... Need I mention when you go get an oil change and they track all your info too?

I would suggest that most "season tickets" have this effect. the convenience is being able to go straight in and pay less per visit, but you have to provide personal data and your usage is monitored.

This would include things like museums, parks, sports stadiums (spectator), theatres, cinemas and so on.

Some public transport season tickets where you go through an automatic barrier.

Old Aged Pensioners' discount cards. Same thing would go for student's union cards and the like.

:)

Along the lines of 'loyalty' cards, the 'Players Clubs' that most casinos, big and small, are offering these days. They track your gambling, hotel usage, etc. info all over the place...

Another one is the On-Line survey types, there are a few organisations that send out after getting info from in store courtesy cards, like Shoppers Drug mart has a "optimum" card , every time it's swiped, the sales get reflected on your information and the survey people take it from there.

You guys have been a huge help! Thanks so much for your responses thus far. I thought that I had them all before I posted, but looking over these, there are at least six or seven that I had not even thought of... so, great!

If anyone has any more, feel free to post, though by now I think I've got plenty for this part of my paper. Thanks, again, folks!

I forgot to mention, the badge you receive at work, a lot of them can track where you are in the building.

In fact if you go to any modern hospital they have a badge that the nurses wear that indicate if they are in a room or not and then the nurse station can look and see where all the nurses are in order to get help make sure they are where they should be.

You exchange a lot more than your privacy at the airport. You can include self-esteem, peace of mind, real security.

All that for the false feeling of security while flying from one place to another.

I'm not a grump, really.

Oh, yeah, then there is the federal government. You exchange everything for the convenience of someone reaming you a new ...

;)

[Edit]
BTW, does it show that I just paid this year's taxes?
[/Edit]

You trade your personal information for Social Security Payements.
Give 'em your details unemployement status, and they give you a few hundred dollars a fortnight etc..
The government can use those details to get your addresse etc, the police also can gain that information to obtain your location, so if you got a warrant for your arrest etc they know where to look.

Also Video stores, you need to give them your details, before you can hire a movie/game etc

f2B

Surprised this one hasn't been Mentioned yet.

Resume Websites: Dice, Monster, Careerbuilder, Hotjobs, Washingtonpost.com (jobs) etc.

They can get all of your skill set, including your previous work experience and save it in there database for years. (I've gotten calls asking me to come in for interviews when I havn't had a resume up in over 8 months and the Resume they have is over 3 years out of date.)

makes it easier to find a new job.

Galiath

"Demo Software" downloads, including 30 day trials of reporting software (did tons of those last week), games, etc. They now have your information, and if you actually gave them your phone number they'll call you up trying to ask you if you'd like to buy there software, or send you emails about new products patches etc. Also a few of the sites will sell your email address.

Galiath

Paying for stuff, services etc, via mobile phone?

More popular in Japan, I think there you can use your mobile to pay for allsorts?

Any sort of prepayment cards, cards are easier to track than cash. Ireland has prepayment credit cards I believe.

the google search history.
I think that gives up lot of privacy for convenience...

EZ-Pass. part of the "intelligent transportation system"

allows you to zip threw a toll gate but the transponders are used at intersections and along hyways where no toll is collected.

I don't understand people mourning their lost privacy...

You've never had any.
Your parents had to get you a Social Security number by the time you were six months to get tax credit for you.
Your parents probably had you in some restaraunts kids birthday party club so you could have a free birthday party.
The school you went to had to register you with the government to get $$ for your education.

Everything you used credit or an atm card was tracked just so you didn't have to carry cash.


The cows have left the barn and now we're trying to close the door.

fourdc: That's pretty much what the paper is about, though. The beginning of it goes into the histories of privacy, and peoples' perceived notions of it, and concludes with my own ideas on how things will be in the future, with tons in the middle to read. :)

I'll try to post it here soon. I just need to get word from the journal that's publishing it that it's ok to do so.