Privacy, Online & Off

We like to think we control what the world knows about us. Then something happens that reminds you just how much you don't.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to my mom about her fitness classes and whether she should start teaching cycle. Nothing was typed, nothing was searched, just a conversation.

Later that day, I opened Instagram and suddenly my feed was full of cycling instructor videos. 

Social Media Privacy

It's honestly a little creepy when that happens.

It's one thing to know, abstractly, that companies collect data on us. It's another thing to have a spoken conversation followed almost instantly by ads that match it word for word. 

Moments like that make it hard not to wonder what else is listening.

It's not just conversations, either. 

Every time I travel for a rowing regatta, my social media feed starts recommending things to do in whatever city I've landed in, before I've even told any app where I am. 

Same with Google: I'll search "restaurants" with zero location details, and it already knows exactly where I'm standing. 

HPU Travel Bus

None of this is a coincidence. It's the product of data mining, location tracking, and behavioral marketing working together, quietly, in the background of everyday life.

What gets me is how normal this has become. 

We've accepted contracts of adhesion, the terms of service nobody actually reads, because using the app matters more in the moment than protecting our information. 

Once we hand our data to a company, the third-party doctrine kicks in: we've basically given up control over what happens to it next.

And it doesn't stop with apps. 

Police departments now use license plate readers that log ordinary people's movements, not just criminals. 

Add in the federal government pulling this information into centralized databases, plus the fact that companies quietly sell them what they can't legally collect themselves, and it starts to feel like privacy is less a right and more a formality.

So, what do we actually do? 

Limit your Location

Honestly, I've started being more intentional: checking app permissions, limiting location access, and thinking twice before I post. 

It won't stop targeted ads from happening after a random conversation with my mom, but it's a start. 

At the very least, we should be asking louder questions about who's collecting our data, how long they keep it, and what it's actually being used for. Because right now, most of us have no idea.

AI Disclosure: I used Microsoft Copilot to help edit this post.