Data brokerage is the underground economy that powers online advertising today. They follow us so everywhere online; it’s hard to believe that this practice of buying and selling our data is even legal.

The real-world equivalent of this practice is someone who stalks you 24/7, noting your every move, with little or no consequence. And while it initially seems like a harmless way to sell you more stuff, data brokerage has evolved to affect everything from your credit scores to insurance premiums.

So what can you do to stop data brokers from buying and selling your data?

Make it harder for data brokers to capture your data

When it comes to data brokerage, your data is more valuable when it is more granular. For this reason, decentralizing information about you is the key to making your data unusable or hard to sell.

Here are some methods you can try to keep your information away from data brokers, or at least make it harder to use.

1. Do not use your real name in inscriptions

Many companies will try to get you to subscribe to their mailing lists, loyalty cards, and other databases in exchange for coupons, discounts, and other freebies. While many brands simply use them for their internal promotions, some companies also sell their databases to data brokers.

To get around this, use a fake name to sign up for unnecessary websites, get promotions, and enjoy the benefits of joining their database without compromising your identity.

This also applies to offline data collection practices, such as brand activations and events. Unless absolutely necessary, there is no incentive for you to give your real name to advertisers.

2. Have multiple email addresses and phone numbers

Data brokers often use certain key data points to verify your identity. While there is really nothing you can do when it comes to public records containing your real name and contact details; you can always avoid giving them unnecessarily.

When browsing online, try to separate the different facets of your life. If possible, have different contact details for work, personal life, banking, etc.

It’s also good to have a disposable email address and a burner phone that you can use for listings that aren’t that important or that you only need to access once.

3. Keep your medical information on the Internet

For those recovering from medical issues, sharing your journey with the world can be a cathartic experience. In some ways, it can be an inspiration and a breath of fresh air from toxic news feeds. However, it can be a source of information for data brokerage firms, especially if you publish it publicly.

Apart from that, regular social media registrations, such as hospitals and pharmacies, and dozens of health and fitness apps on the market provide vital information about your health and wellbeing in. general.

This is relevant information that medical information data brokers can use and sell. For example, data brokers can sell this information to insurers, which affects your premiums, and to predatory healthcare companies.

4. Disable cookies when browsing

Cookies are the bane of the Internet. They’re little creatures that follow you long after you’ve left a website, and that’s what businesses use to deliver targeted ads to you. Fortunately, many browsers have taken a step down to prevent most cookies from working on them.

Related: How to Stop Advertisers From Stealing Your Data

However, many devious sites still take advantage of bad user interfaces to force users to activate them. In some cases, they even prevent the full functionality of a site until cookies are accepted.

When possible, always say no to cookies and opt for browsers that work to anonymize your browsing.

5. Avoid unnecessary smart home devices

Nowadays, smart home devices are more and more a part of our daily life. While there are many useful, practical, and even vital uses for smart home devices, the data they collect about us also presents some dangers.

In fact, there are a growing number of smart home device scams; in which data brokers collect information about users. Unfortunately, this data can lead to depleted bank accounts, home invasion and more when compromised.

For this reason, it is essential to assess how smart your home should be and try to keep it to a minimum.

6. Choose where you pay with a credit or debit card

Building your credit score is never a bad idea. However, some credit card purchases can do more harm than good to your overall credit.

Financial information data brokers insinuate your financial situation based on your purchases. Therefore, the regular use of your credit or debit card on small amounts in inexpensive places will create an image of someone in financial difficulty and prone to debt. Along with this, you will also be the target of shady financial services like payday loans.

If possible, pay cash for small purchases or use anonymous payment methods like Cash App. Then reserve your credit or debit card for larger, more expensive purchases or experiences instead.

Keep your data out of the hands of the data broker

At the heart of it, data brokers are allowed to do what they do on the basis of ongoing consent. That’s why they take advantage of our assumption that the internet is a free and fun place where no one keeps track of what we share.

Fortunately, we have the option of refusing. But because our data is what makes them money, data brokers don’t make it easy for anyone. Worried consumers face endless hurdles just to get their name off the brokerage databases.

Sometimes that requires sending valid IDs, faxing physical forms, and going through multiple pages. Also, different data brokerage companies can simultaneously hold your data, so you have to go through them all if you want to remove it from their list.

Plus, the most advanced data brokers can insinuate information about you simply from public records and the data of people you’re always close to.

The only way to regain full control of our data is to intervene through effective legislation. In the meantime, we can make life for data brokers more difficult by being careful with our personal information.

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