By Diane Lee (WSPA)
When you click on an ad online, you may be revealing more about yourself than you ever thought.
Marketers have developed new tools to get your private information.
Simone Momon in Spartanburg says she never shares her location on Facebook, disables her phone’s GPS, and declines mobile location requests.
“I think as far as knowing people’s address or being able to pinpoint their location, to me it’s very much crossing the line.”
But now new technology is allowing online marketers to get your address when you click on ads, even if you’re not at home. Right now you’re asked to opt-in, but many people may not realize what they’re giving up.
“There’s a big issue of invasion of privacy,” said Dr. Roz Paige, an Associate Professor of Marketing at USC Upstate.
Paige says your address is like a master key for marketers, allowing them to tap into a host of other information tied to your location.
“They can tell now when you’re home, or whether you’re out on the road, or whether you’re in the store or that type of thing. And that to me, I find very invasive.”
Paige says be especially leery of adds that have motion and are sensational. Those could also contain malware.
Also, keep this in mind. Just because you visit a site you trust, doesn’t mean the ads are reputable. They’re often run by a third party company, and not necessarily monitored by the site you’re on.
It’s just one more thing for Momon says she has to avoid.
“It’s scary that they can find your location or pinpoint your address from you clicking on something, it makes you not want to do that anymore.”
Instead, do a search about the ad or company, and you’re bound to learn what you can trust based on the experience of people who have clicked before you.
