A common response to tracking is “so what, they aren’t going to do anything bad with that data”.
Somehow, people think that since they don’t understand, or even know, what Microsoft would do with the tracking data that there’s no risk in letting them track us.
Many people are that trusting. I have personally been that trusting before. Other times I’m more paranoid. Today, I’m not trusting at all.
Here’s something to think about: if they weren’t doing anything with your data do you think they’d collect it? Would a multi billion dollar (or maybe trillion dollar) company put resources into their software so that it can do something they would never use? Obviously not. If they didn’t leverage the data then they never would’ve set up the ability to do it. And if it weren’t profitable they wouldn’t keep it.
So what are they doing with it and why is it profitable?
None of us can really answer that question specifically or accurately. All we know is that they are tracking us and they wouldn’t do so without a good reason and profit motive.
I don’t know how much tracking I have eliminated from my life but I know it’s a lot. There are some things I don’t worry about but most of it I do.
23 and me just sold their business. Your data was safe with them for a little while but now it’s being auctioned to the highest bidder.
What will that entity do with it?
The answer is: anything they want. Forever. In fact, a better answer is ANYTHINGS they want. There is no end to what they can or will do with it, or how many times they will do it. They now own it. What is “it”? The DNA data on countless people. That’s personal.
