Internet and privacy – To be honest, we should stop using these words together. Where there is the internet, there isn’t any privacy.
We have indulged ourselves on the internet so much that we are ready to sacrifice our privacy to secure fake freedom over the internet. How organizations collect and use our information is a mystery to many of us, yet we willingly offer ours to continue to use them. But there just might be hope.
If internet privacy has eroded this much today, what will be its future? Let’s try to take a sneak peek and see how things will turn out for internet privacy. If you don’t wish to traumatise yourself with what the future holds and want a quick privacy fix, check out VPNRanks for in depth guides on online privacy, geo-unblocking guides and so much more.
Internet of things
One thing that is expected to happen the most is that the devices currently not using the internet will be converted into devices that regularly use the internet. The network of such devices is called the Internet of things.
It is expected that everything from your washing machine to your hair trimmer will be getting connected to the internet. You will be able to access and operate these devices using the internet remotely. Soon everything in our house will be able to work with just an application.
Here’s the catch, these smart devices rely on sending the data to the service providers. These service providers include services like Amazon and Google. Once all of our machines are online, you can say our whole life will be available online.
One way to keep your data secure and encrypted is by using a VPN. A good VPN service with a non-log policy ensures that your data is not recorded on its server. Therefore, your online activity and information disappear as soon as you get offline.
Big Data
Service provider companies like Facebook and Google collect have led to massive databases that store information about customers’ habits.
This information is used by them differently to enhance their products and increase the network of their customers. The size of data in cyberspace is expanding at a tremendous pace. Currently, 2.5 exabytes (2.5 billion GB) of data is generated each day.
Imagine how much data will be generated in 10 years and what can be achieved by this data.
To provide you an idea about how much of an influence this data can have on our lives. Do check out this article from New York Times, which reports that credit card companies utilize your credit card information to determine who is a credit risk and who is not.
Behavior patterns
One of the essential ways companies are utilizing big data is to find patterns in our behavior. These patterns are then studied to make assumptions about our future behavior, who we are, and what we seek to purchase.
According to the New York Times, retailers and lenders use the data of our past purchases to determine which customer is more inclined to re-pay in time. A retailer found that customers who bought bird seeds were more likely to make payments on time.
The customers who bought mobile accessories were most like to miss their payment. The customers who fit the latter pattern were rejected the store credit.
While this report may look to you like nothing more than a coincidence, the reality is that in the future, all of our actions will be calculated and predicted even before we make them. By keeping yourself anonymous over the internet, you can somewhat slow the infection pattern, slowly growing in our cyberspace.
Loss of privacy
It is always dangerous for a single company to hold such a massive amount of data. They can manipulate the public as well. Take the Cambridge Analytica Scandal example, where the company used the data they stole from Facebook to influence the United States presidential elections.
The opposite side of the coin is not so pleasant as well. The government can also use data to influence the public into passing laws or supporting a particular cause.
It doesn’t end here. A person with malicious intent can also track you, harm you, or kidnap you by collecting and analyzing your IoT devices’ data.
That being said, this is the right time to start thinking about your internet and cyberspace security and privacy.
What is the future?
The future holds less and less privacy. The amount of data that we are sharing about ourselves is increasing day by day.
Similarly, the methods of reading this data and analyzing it are also involved. With so much data about ourselves
We are sharing a large amount of data about ourselves each day. It will continue to grow as more and more devices become a part of the internet of things. As the data is growing, so are the methods of intercepting them as well. With so much data about us being collected by these companies, soon they will know more about us than we know about ourselves.
