Are you big in Japan? Probably not—but your data might be.
The latest iOS update gives people the ability to opt out of apps tracking them across other apps or sites. This inspired Mackeeper, a digital privacy software company, to analyze 56 sites to see where in the world your data goes.
Instagram shared more than all the companies looked at by Mackeeper. Using connection tracker LittleSnitch, it found data from one device was sent to Kansas; Virginia; Dublin; Nairobi; Rio Branco, Brazil; and Taiwan to be stored in databases. These repositories make prime targets for hackers and are subject to other vulnerabilities, as Facebook’s recent data leak has proved. Over 500 million Facebook users now have data including their full names, Facebook IDs, phone numbers, and email addresses floating around the internet.
Facebook-owned Instagram tracks a tremendous amount of information about its users, including, as Mackeeper notes, height, weight, sexual orientation, and past employment.
Secure encrypted messaging app Signal demonstrated just this the other day by attempting to buy Facebook ads that showed users their own data directly in targeted advertising. Facebook banned the ads but Signal put up a blog post with examples, some of which are included above. If you’re a single teacher who’s a Leo, into sketch comedy, and maybe does drag, Instagram knows, and so do all the entities who pay it for that info.
Mackeeper found that your porn data might be the safest secret you have. Porn apps and sites sent that information to only one location: Kansas. But before you breathe a sigh of relief, consider all the havoc that can be wreaked with your banking details, the data that Mackeeper found sent to Kansas, North Carolina, Dublin, and Poland.
While you can’t guard against all data collection, you can improve your online privacy by using a VPN. PCMag has reviewed may of them, and you can see our top picks here.
