As we have already seen from some examples, a lot of data is collected about us in everyday life. We also leave a multitude of data traces in the digital space, which we do not always realise. The most obvious data that you leave behind on the Internet can be found when you enter your name in a search engine. All the results that are displayed there are also visible to everyone else on the Internet. You can find out what data your internet browser reveals about you on this page, for example: https://coveryourtracks.eff.org.

Two further examples illustrate the extent to which digital data can now be utilised.

Source: Stefan Schweihofer on Pixabay

Example: Using Facebook likes to create a personality profile 

Back in 2015, Dr Youyou Wu from the University of Cambridge showed how precisely a person's personality can be determined by their behaviour on social networks such as Facebook. In the study, the researchers used adaptive software to determine the personality profile of individual people based on their "likes" on Facebook.  

With just 70 likes, the software was able to estimate the user's personality more accurately than the person's close circle of friends. With 150 likes, the computer programme's prediction was better than that of family members, and just 300 likes were enough to assess the person's personality to the same extent as their life partner.

Source: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1418680112

Example: What our smartphone reveals about us

But smartphones also collect extensive data about us and our behaviour - such as our location, communication data and media consumption. In 2020, a team led by German scientist Dr Clemens Stachl investigated the extent to which smartphone data allows conclusions to be drawn about personality. The result: usage logs from apps, media and websites, location, communication and screen activity allow conclusions to be drawn about our personality. Communication and app usage data are particularly suitable for such predictions. 

Source: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1920484117

The consequences of digital traces

The conclusions drawn from the data are not always correct. This does not make the procedure any better, as we are often unaware of the amount of data that is collected and analysed about us. The only thing that helps is to take a look at the privacy policy of every digital device, app and service we use. As these notices are often long and incomprehensible, we often accept them without reading them in detail. However, this is important for the protection of our personal data.   

Even if this information is mainly used today to display targeted advertising, this data could also be used for other purposes in the future.