Recently I have read news that Facebook is going to test a new system designed to prevent sharing users’ private photos without their consent. And this reminded me about how fragile people have become in the Internet era. Of course, they overshare and are often to blame for their own problems. However, it’s also businesses that create a new normal for our understanding of privacy. 

They make us believe there is nothing wrong with displaying information about where we live, where we usually go to, people we spend time with, etc. This information may be used differently, however without our knowledge. It turns out the price for using free services is rather high. Besides, your experience with social media may be creepy even if you give them as little information as possible.

It is not always a pleasant feeling when Facebook, for example, suggests you to befriend people with whom you attended the same place, right? The company claims it selects people for your Suggested Friends based on “mutual friends, work and education information, networks you’re part of, contacts you’ve imported and many other factors”. These “other factors” are often your physical location and I wonder, what is the next algorithm they come up with? 

You can quit social media, but then you may look suspicious in the eyes of your potential employers and it would be harder to stay in touch with your friends and acquaintances you don’t see much. Besides, erasing yourself from social media will not stop you from using Internet. 

This situation is aggravated by the fact that people in general do not care about privacy much. They may be aware that websites track their activity, use their personal data, but take it for granted. That’s when the majority decides for the minority. People who do not want someone to invade into their life cannot defend their rights. 

However, the good news is that more and more people express concerns for their personal information. For instance, in January 2017, the IDC found that younger consumers, aged 18-35, demonstrate a higher concern for their personally identifiable information than do their 36-50 year-old counterparts.

And I am one of those who need more private space nowadays, so I have already begun to take measures for preserving my privacy. For instance, I use a VPN provider - https://nordvpn.com/ to hide my IP and a tool for clearing my browser’s cache - https://macflypro.com/ to prevent websites from tracking me. I regret not knowing about alternative search engines earlier. However, they exist and finally I feel like I can choose searX, DuckDuckGo, or StartPage instead of Google.

I am sure there are other ways to let businesses know that people’s acquiescence is not permanent. Let’s look for them and become more conscious online for our own sake.