Personalization allows various platforms to recommend content to users that is tailored to their tastes. While this offers a better user experience, it also poses the biggest threat to privacy as more of your personal data is collected than you might think.
Everyone who uses Netflix or Hulu has found a TV show or movie that the platform’s algorithm recommends to them that perfectly matches their taste. Similarly, Spotify and Deezer provide weekly playlists of new music recommendations to each user based on their listening history. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube , and other popular platforms recommend personalized ads to users based on each user’s interests, as reflected in their use of these platforms. The same is true for any other streaming or social media platform. This personalization guarantees a better experience for users.
What users may not be aware of, however, is the amount of personal data these platforms collect to present them with such highly personalized recommendations. This poses a privacy risk. Even more important is the fear that malicious actors could seize this data and turn innocent users into victims of criminal and “fraudulent” activities.
Streaming and social media platforms pose more privacy risks than you might think.
It should not be overlooked that these large companies that offer such services to the public have been victims of multiple cyberattacks and data breaches. This puts users' personal data even more at risk.
For example, Twitter recently suffered a breach that resulted in attackers gaining access to the accounts of high-profile users, including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kanye West. The attackers used social engineering to carry out phishing attacks on some of their employees.
Additionally, in late 2019, shortly after its launch, Disney+ suffered a data breach that allowed hackers to steal thousands of account information and sell it on the dark web. Apparently, more than one in 10 users of the streaming platform have had their accounts compromised.
Obviously, cybercriminals won't stop attacking, and while they may not target individual users, they can easily target media platforms to gain access to personal files.
There are two essential security measures that users of such platforms must take:
- Protect their accounts from direct attacks (through password security, personal VPNs, multi-factor authentication, etc.)
- To limit the volume of personal data they knowingly or unknowingly provide to them.
How can you protect your data and privacy from personalization?
In recent years, one of the most important regulations regarding the use of consumer personal data by media is the GDPR, which forced platforms that collect personal data of their users to use such data ethically, provide full disclosure of data usage, and have greater cybersecurity to protect consumer data.
The GDPR is largely pro-consumer. It states that users must explicitly consent to, or at least be informed by, data collection companies about the following:
- Automated individual decision-making (decision-making solely by automated means without human participation). and
- Profiling (automated processing of personal data to evaluate certain things about an individual). Profiling may be part of an automated decision-making process.
To protect your data from personalization on media platforms, you must first determine the level of risk your use poses, and this starts with finding out what types of (personal) data these media companies collect from their users and how they use the data.
Based on the provisions of the GDPR, media platforms now have options for users to receive all of their data from the moment they start using the platform. This provides users with insight into how much information the platform knows about them.
If you are not comfortable with the collection of your data, you can also choose to close your account and delete your data from the platform’s database forever. However, if you don’t want to take such a big step, you can change the data collection and use the options available on the platform.
For example, deleting your viewing history on Netflix or YouTube prevents the respective platform from showing you recommendations based on personalization. Similarly, social media platforms provide many options regarding data control and privacy.
Therefore, it is important to explore these options on each platform in order to determine what personal data each platform may collect about you and how it may use it.
