UFC-Que Choisir recently conducted a survey on the collection and sharing of online data. According to the consumer association, an Internet user is tracked by more than 1,000 third parties after visiting 10 sites.
For many years now, the collection and sharing of data on the Internet has been a subject that has caused distrust among Internet users. Despite the numerous measures introduced by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), concerns persist. And for good reason: personal data and user preferences still pass through too easily. As evidenced by the new survey conducted by the UFC-Que Choisir as part of its “I am not a data” campaign and in the run-up to the next European Data Protection Day, Sunday January 28, 2024. As revealed by the consumer defense association, Internet users are still exposed to permanent tracking of their data. As a reminder, cookies make it possible to establish the digital profile of each Internet user by taking into account their online habits and interests. This process then makes it possible to offer it suitable content, but also advertisements which may prove intrusive.
Internet tracking: these 10 sites share your data with more than 1,000 third parties
During its study, UFC-Que Choisir consulted 10 sites which are among the most popular in France. Among them, we find Météo-France, Cdiscount, Leboncoin, 20 minutesAlloCiné, The worldMarmiton, Orange, TV Program (Tele-Leisure) and Yahoo. If a user simply visits these sites, their data is shared with more than 1,000 third parties. The consumer defense association has also identified more than 4,000 data shares since some of these third parties are present on several of the sites previously mentioned. These entities, which are not known to the general public, are mainly data brokers and online advertising providers. Their objective ? Track consumer data and analyze their behavior to offer them targeted content.
Unfortunately, UFC-Que Choisir was faced with a great difficulty during its investigation: that of deleting the data collected by third parties. Indeed, this approach to protecting privacy turns out to be almost impossible, because no contact has been found among all the companies concerned. Of the 923 email addresses that were found, UFC-Que Choisir found that 83 were inactive. Then, there were 374 requests for data deletion which remained unanswered after the thirty-day deadline set by the GDPR. Among the 465 responses from third parties, more than half (54%) assured that they did not have the sender’s email address in their database and 189 of them requested additional information to identify the Internet user to extract from his database. Ultimately, only 7% of the 1,040 companies that collected information offered “a relatively simple and convincing approach” to delete a user’s data.
What solutions to fight against tracking on the Internet?
Fortunately, there are a few tips you can use to limit the collection and sharing of your data on the Internet. To do this, it may be interesting to use the tool set up by UFC-Que Choisir. This allows you in particular to discover what online platforms know about you, but also to regain control of your personal data. Next, we also advise you to remain careful when managing your cookies. In particular, you can refuse cookies when you arrive on a site. At the same time, you can also check the Block third-party cookies box in your browser settings. This option is notably offered in the Confidentiality and security tab of Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Finally, we advise you to regularly clean your browser by deleting cookies. Again, you can clear your browsing data in the Privacy and Security section.