The following is a guest post by Harry Campbell. Read more about him in his bio after the post.
In today’s social media age, there is a constant barrage of data being passed around. Companies like Facebook and Twitter have more of your personal information on file than they know what to do with. What they use all this data for is a mystery to me but I’m sure it’s very valuable. Video on demand and DVR type services have eliminated a large chunk of the advertising space on television, so companies are turning to the internet more and more. I sometimes get paid $3 when people click on certain ads and that seems like a pretty ridiculous amount for something that probably won’t lead to a sale. When was the last time you clicked on an ad and actually bought something?
The online platform does allow companies to tailor their ads towards individuals and target certain types of buyers. Have you ever seen a Google ad for an item you were just looking at on another site like Amazon or Wal-Mart? If you’re looking for a stainless steel refrigerator on Amazon, Amazon will drop a ‘cookie’ in your browser for this item and the next time you visit a site with Google ads you might just see an advertisement for this refrigerator. Creepy, huh?
$5 For My Privacy
A couple months ago, I received an interesting offer from Google to install a Chrome extension called Screenwise. Screenwise would monitor my browsing behavior for three months and in exchange I would get a $5 gift card. The offer sounded pretty good to me at the time, but then I thought about all the sites I visit on a daily basis. I might visit 20 or 30 sites on an average day and I’m sure there are people who surf a lot more than me. Do I really want Google knowing about all the sites I visit? Not for five stinkin’ dollars!
Honestly, I don’t care much about my privacy in matters like this, but five bucks seems like nothing for a gold mine of data. Google won’t be able to find out my name or where I live but even if they did, how would that really affect me? I mean there might be a few sites I don’t want them to know I’m visiting 
but there’s always incognito mode for that! I opted not to sign up for Screenwise because that browsing data is valuable and Google’s going to have to pay for it if they want it.
What Sites Do I Give My Data To?
There are plenty of services that I do use that gather data in exchange for a certain service or product. Sites like Mint have an entire record of every financial transaction I make on a monthly basis, but in exchange I get an awesome budgeting software, and a convenient platform to check my transactions daily. I know Mint likes to advertise itself as a free service, but trust me, you’re paying for it with all the personal information you’re giving up. In this case, I think it’s worth it though because they provide a service that I could not do on my own.
Going forward, you will probably start to see more and more of these data for money/service type exchanges. I recently wrote about a promotion between Amex and Twitter that asks you to sync your American Express card to your Twitter account. In exchange, you get offers like $20 off $200 purchases at Best Buy, or $10 off $50 gift card purchases. This information could be invaluable to a site like Twitter that depends on advertising to turn a profit, so you have to decide if the deals they offer in exchange are worth it to you.
I don’t think my personal data is too valuable, so I’m willing to accept most of these data for cash offers, but some might not want all their personal info out in the open because it is a little bit big brother-ish. So be careful when you’re out there on the internet, but know that these offers will keep coming and there’s not a whole lot you can do sometimes.
Discussion Questions:
- Have you ever traded your privacy for money or a ‘free service’ like Mint or Credit Sesame?
- Do you find it creepy when you see a personalized ad on Facebook or Google Ads?
- What would you have to be paid to sign up for Screenwise for three months? For me it’s probably about $20.
About the author: Harry Campbell lives in San Diego, CA where he works as an aerospace engineer, volleyball coach and financial blogger, in that order. On his personal finance and real estate blog, Your Personal Finance Pro, he talks about everything from saving money at Chipotle to investing in index funds and real estate. His blog is geared towards young professionals, but there are life hacks and investing tips and tricks for all ages.
An accountant by day and blogger by night, Lance is the owner of this site. 
Scary post Harry. It is very big brother-ish, I hate thinking that my computer is registered and so is my IP address, and anyone with bad intentions can do a lot of harm there. It is pretty creepy to see ads based on previous browsing. I never thought about Mint that way though, I thought they were not supposed to disclose information about users to anyone.
Pauline recently posted..Friday recap, a blogoversary and a sold flat!!
It is a little scary to know that, but I think most of us don’t have anything to worry about. As long as you’re not doing anything you shouldn’t be I don’t think anyone will try and bother you.
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..Reader Question: Investing in Real Estate Without a Down Payment, What is an REIT?
I actually hate giving away my details to companies for these rewards programs.
I know that I am missing out on some great deals by not signing up, but for some reason I just don’t like the idea of companies knowing everything about me.
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..The Real Truth About Flex Time
I understand that but at the same time if you’ve signed up for facebook, twitter or any similar site you’ve already given away that data. Out of the millions of internet surfers, I don’t think I’m that important so I don’t mind giving out my data for something in return.
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..Reader Question: Investing in Real Estate Without a Down Payment, What is an REIT?
Harry – I think you’re right on target, though I think my price point for Screen Wise would be a good deal higher than $20. The slightly scarier thing is that a lot of times people don’t even realize how much personal information they are giving to companies because data analysts have gotten so good at pulling out statistical correlations – read Charles Duhigg’s the Power of Habit (or his excerpt in the NYT from it) to see how good Target is at this.
Google also used to have a page (not sure if it’s still there), where you could go and see what google had assumed about you given your browsing history. At the time I checked Google thought I was a 55-65 year old female who was interested in finance, real estate, and health & exercise. Except for the age, spot on. (Though I was told I was 4 going on 40 back in the day…. push that forward a couple decades…. )
Anyhow, fab post. =)
Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies recently posted..Updates – October 2012
Wow I’ll have to look for that page, that seems really interesting. And it’s definitely true that a lot of people don’t even realize they’re giving up their personal data. That’s why I find it funny when people get so angry about things like this because they’re probably already doing it but don’t know about it.
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..Reader Question: Investing in Real Estate Without a Down Payment, What is an REIT?
Good post Harry. This is all sad, but true information. I think many are still either clueless to this going on, or they’re on the other extreme and are way too paranoid about it and avoid all things related to the computer.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..Frugal Friday: Posts That Ruled This Week, the BCS Edition
Well said, I think you need to find a nice middle ground where you’re not overly paranoid, but you know that if you surf the internet, it’s inevitable that you’re going to give up some of your privacy.
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..Reader Question: Investing in Real Estate Without a Down Payment, What is an REIT?
I still find it a bit creepy, even though I know what’s going on behind the scenes….
I would bet Google is already tracking my websites even without the $5, so I don’t see a big deal with it. That being said, I’m not going to do it…
Jason Clayton | frugal habits recently posted..Do You Use the Electronic Envelope System?
You’re right, I know Google has agreements with certain sites/retailers to trade cookies and they can get browsing info from you that way. Either way, it’s unavoidable if you’re going to surf the internet and take advantage of some of these things. So why not get paid for it?
I would never trade privacy for money. I am not aware of sites that sell my information. Every time I am asked, I refuse to release my information.
krantcents recently posted..Friday Night Links: Last & Final Edition
I think you’d be surprised to find out that many sites are already tracking your information, do you use facebook or twitter or any site like that? Mint, Ck, etc..
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..Reader Question: Investing in Real Estate Without a Down Payment, What is an REIT?
I just read another post today (read so many that I can’t remember where), which talked about a search engine that doesn’t track what sites you browse. It’s pretty scary to think what Google really knows about all of us and our habits/preferences. It’s definitely not a good thing.
Jason @ WSL recently posted..Are You Fighting Over Money? Here Are the Top 3 Money Problems in Marriage
Yea but at the same time, google is providing you a free service by letting you use their search engine. Obviously they make money by selling ads, but as you say you are free to use another search engine like bing, but bing is pretty terrible IMO haha. So I’ll continue to use google because they’re the best.
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..Reader Question: Investing in Real Estate Without a Down Payment, What is an REIT?
You phone is even creepier (is that word?) since it can enable location tracking…who knows what data and marketing they can use with that info!
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That’s a great point! I don’t know how many apps I have on my smartphone that track my location and who knows what they do with this data. But I mean honestly do I really care if they know where I am. I go from home to work to the beach and home usually haha. Not that exciting if you’re tracking me.
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..Reader Question: Investing in Real Estate Without a Down Payment, What is an REIT?