Websites sharing our personal information with advertisers is a growing concern.
Popular websites are disclosing personal information to advertisers and others more often than previously believed, according to new research, and the finding is renewing calls to let Internet users block companies from tracking their online surfing.
Information that could easily identify you — your name, user name or email address, for instance — typically is embedded in the Uniform Resource Locator, or URL, that websites share with online advertisers and other third parties, said Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford graduate student who studied the issue and released his findings Tuesday.
The practice is pervasive, though not necessarily intentional, on some of the more popular websites, including home improvement center Home Depot's online store and photo-sharing site Photobucket, Mayer said.
Online privacy advocates said the findings show the need for a do-not-track mechanism, similar to the popular do-not-call list to block telemarketing calls. Such a mechanism would enable consumers to opt out of online tracking, which is used to deliver advertising targeted to a person's online behavior.
Privacy advocates said widespread data leakage means that Web browsing is not as anonymous as the industry has claimed.
"That information is not anonymous and is often shared with sites," said John Simpson, privacy project director for Consumer Watchdog.
The Future of Privacy Forum, a think tank that advocates for responsible data practices, said websites should be careful to avoid "mistaken exposure of personal information."
Future of Privacy Pdf.
http://futureofprivacy.org/final_report.pdf
http://www.futureofprivacy.org/leading-practices/online-privacy/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-fi-web-privacy-20111012,0,7304321.story