"Facebook says "authenticity" is key to the social network and rigorously policed, and that false information violates the terms of service agreement.
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Computer engineer Ryan Barrett fills in online forms with 0000s whenever a number is required and uses dashes for words. He says it is mostly out of principle: he wants to be in control of his information. Also, it's fun to try to fool the marketers. He has used a dozen different spellings for John Doe rather than entering his name. He even misspells his name when reserving airplane tickets and says it has never created a problem going through security.
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He says he has friends who work at companies that look at multiple services to link up and cross-reference data on individuals-data gleaned from mobile phones, social media, grocery store loyalty cards and more. When those friends searched for him in their systems, they found little to no information. "There's a small feeling of satisfaction," he says.
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All the lying does seem to foil advertisers. It is "a much bigger problem than people are aware of," says Nick Baker, director of research and consulting of U.K. market research company Verve, which conducted a 2015 survey showing a large amount of fake information on website registrations and the like.
Incorrect birth years, he says, are particularly nefarious because advertisers are often trying to match up habits or buying patterns with a specific age group.
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Preethy Vaidyanathan, the chief product officer of New York-based marketing technology company Tapad, says they track much more valuable information from phone and web browser use.
Still, Ms. Vaidyanathan sees the value in hiding identity online. She says she uses a second email address with a fake name that she gives out to companies she doesn't want to bombard her inbox.
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Computer engineer Ryan Barrett fills in online forms with 0000s whenever a number is required and uses dashes for words. He says it is mostly out of principle: he wants to be in control of his information. Also, it's fun to try to fool the marketers. He has used a dozen different spellings for John Doe rather than entering his name. He even misspells his name when reserving airplane tickets and says it has never created a problem going through security.
...
He says he has friends who work at companies that look at multiple services to link up and cross-reference data on individuals-data gleaned from mobile phones, social media, grocery store loyalty cards and more. When those friends searched for him in their systems, they found little to no information. "There's a small feeling of satisfaction," he says.
...
All the lying does seem to foil advertisers. It is "a much bigger problem than people are aware of," says Nick Baker, director of research and consulting of U.K. market research company Verve, which conducted a 2015 survey showing a large amount of fake information on website registrations and the like.
Incorrect birth years, he says, are particularly nefarious because advertisers are often trying to match up habits or buying patterns with a specific age group.
...
Preethy Vaidyanathan, the chief product officer of New York-based marketing technology company Tapad, says they track much more valuable information from phone and web browser use.
Still, Ms. Vaidyanathan sees the value in hiding identity online. She says she uses a second email address with a fake name that she gives out to companies she doesn't want to bombard her inbox.
Source:
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/you-werent-born-in-1910-why...