The privacy point: Where is it, and how do you protect it?

The other day I was hunting for something on Google Maps and a notification popped up that asked me to grant some permissions – immediately I felt I was reaching my privacy point, but rather than close the tab, I went through the information carefully, making sure I understood everything:

Access to the internet: Of course.

The ability to save data: Sounds reasonable.

Cookie policy: Sure, as long as I get a bite.

What made me reach my privacy point was when it asked if I was willing to let it store data on where I’ve been. The rationale was clear enough: Google said it wanted to know so that I’d get better recommendations in search, and suggestions for new places to go.

No doubt the information is also useful to Google in other ways, too  – allowing it to better target its own products and services.

After all, data is the new oil.

The data built up by companies like Amazon and Google means that they probably know me better than I know myself

If I opted to use all of Amazon’s services, they’d know my purchasing habits, favorite foods, hobbies and interests, and birthdays of everyone close to me.

They’d have access to my photos stored in their cloud, along with my music, television, and movie taste. With all of that, they’d probably be able to infer quite a lot about my financial situation too. They’d have a near-complete picture of me as a person.

All the better to market to me, of course – they’d never do anything nefarious with my personal information, right?

Rationally speaking, of course, I knew that no human would ever see that information; I’m just one datapoint in a sloshing sea of numbers. I knew that it really didn’t matter to Google either way what I decided in its maps app, but that saying yes would make my experience with the company’s products a little better than it otherwise would have been.

And yet still I hesitated – I wasn’t scared, necessarily of hackers breaching Google’s defenses (though that can be a worry for some) – I was more uncomfortable about what it could do with my data legally.

In short, I had reached my privacy point.

Privacy point: Not as simple as most companies would like you to believe

When people talk about privacy on the web, it’s usually presented as a black and white issue – something is either a breach of privacy or it’s not. What’s rarely addressed is the fact that different people can have totally different feelings on the same issue – one man’s acceptable data collection is another man’s outright scandal.

Everybody’s privacy point – the point at which the benefits they get for giving up their privacy are no longer worth it — is in a different place.

The reason is that so many things can affect our perceptions of the value of privacy and the risks of giving it up. Youth plays a role – I’ve written before about how my two boys treat images as throwaway experiences, rather than artifacts as my generation does. But it’s not the only factor – there are hundreds of others, from life experiences to family, and even world culture.

Let’s take another example. StitchFix is one of several subscription-model services that sends you clothes based on the data profile it has on you. You don’t order anything, but clothes arrive, and you keep and pay for what you want and send back what you don’t want. Is that creepy, or a great service? Your answer will no doubt differ from your colleagues and friends.

This issue is particularly tough for brands to deal with, of course, because the consequences of getting it wrong can be so severe: hundreds of angry headlines, GDPR fines, and even a class-action lawsuit or two if you’re unlucky.

Whatever the intentions, a move that a brand sees as helpful can be unexpectedly seen by customers as a breach of trust.

Even the most beloved companies in the world get this wrong from time to time.

So here’s an exercise for you to try:

Place yourself on the privacy continuum.

Now place your company there.

Now place your audience there.

Are you all in the same place?