9:50 a.m.: Woke up and checked my notifications. Scrolled Instagram for a little while but didn’t find too many notable posts., I did find that some of them featured information that is extremely relevant to me. For example, I found a post that was posted by a page called “whatsupwithriverside”, which is relatively close to me. The reel also showed a location that I drive by regularly. These aspects of the reel made me question how much information that the platform has on me. I think that content like this could be fed to me because Instagram could have access to my location, as well as the fact that I noticed that certain people I follow also follow that page, so that could be part of the reason I am shown those kinds of posts. I do often interact with posts when scrolling on Instagram by doing things like liking or sharing, but I find that I tend to avoid interacting with posts that relate to my location.

11:20 a.m.: Using Spotify, I listened to the band MGMT and other similar artists while making and eating breakfast. I know that Spotify has access to personal data of mine such as my email, birthday/age, my name, and more. Although I generally use the mobile app, I have noticed that the desktop version of Spotify shows what friends are listening to on each other’s home pages, essentially pushing my content to them and vice versa. Because I have provided Spotify with information like my name and my listening habits, when using certain tools of theirs like their AI DJ and custom generated playlists, it will use my name to address me and feed me music that is like what I have been listening to.

11:25 a.m.: I checked my band’s email address. This account is shared by the entire band, however only two of us generally use it. I honestly do not know what information I have provided Google to create the email address other than a name, birthday, and possibly a phone number. I also don’t know what we agreed to when creating the account, which I have some mild concerns about. I think that Google could use some of the information that we provided to set up the account and even possibly in email sent to feed us information or to send to third parties. After doing some brief research, Google states that they don’t share your password with any third-parties, and that you can review the data that you consented to share from your Google account to third-parties.  

12:30 p.m.: Recently, I have gotten into building Gundam model kits, or Gunpla, so after completing building one, I searched Amazon for a panel-lining marker to make them look more accurate after hearing about it in a YouTube video I watched prior. I then purchased one that was recommended in that YouTube video. I know that Amazon has access to a good amount of my personal data, such as my address, payment methods, age, and more. Further, I have noticed that when I search or purchase something on Amazon, they can use my previous activity to push similar products to me on my next visits to their website.

1:40 p.m.: Checked Instagram for while I had some free time. I got some advertisements that seemed somewhat targeted to me, but I generally avoid interacting with any advertisements on social media platforms. After scrolling Instagram Reels for a few, I sent an Instagram Reel to some friends, including my band members related to a synthesizer that they know I have. By sharing this post with them, this could cause Instagram’s algorithm to share posts from the same creator or about musical gear to both me and the friends I sent it to. I do find that when I like and share posts on Instagram and other similar platforms, my algorithm shifts fast to fit with the content that I recently interacted with.

2:00 p.m. After watching that Instagram reel, I felt motivated to learn more about the synth that I have since I haven’t picked it up in a while. I did some research on it by doing a Google search, which led me to some Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and articles from sites like Noisegate. Because I didn’t pay attention to whether I agreed to any terms, sites like Noisegate could potentially be able to share some of my personal data such as my device information, my actions on their site, my search history, and IP address to third parties. Because I don’t know what information I agreed to share or have the platforms share, I’m not certain what they have access to.

6:00 p.m.: I updated YouTube, and once it updated and opened, I habitually agreed to their new terms without reading them or taking a screenshot of them. I also was greeted with a message from my phone that I’ve gotten before asking for permission to track my activity across other companies’ apps and websites. I said no, and always do when I get that message because I’d like the apps that I use to track my activity as little as possible.

8:00 p.m. Sent an email to Norco Music with the band’s email that I previously mentioned after receiving email from them asking for confirmation for a show. I was also asked to send logo and photos, so I sent those over. Based on some research I’ve done, Google doesn’t use the information that I send in emails unless required by law.

9:00 p.m.: While playing Dungeons & Dragons with some friends, I used an app called “Fifth Edition Character Sheet for DND”, which I had to pay about $3 for when I downloaded it to get full access. While I didn’t read what information the app uses when I downloaded it, I looked up the app on the App Store later and found that certain data may be collected such as contact info, usage data, identifiers, and diagnostics, but it is not linked to my identity.

Reflection

I found that I unfortunately don’t generally pay very close attention to what information I am sharing with the platforms that I use, and I use services without considering the data that they share to other parties. I know that I agree to terms of service and privacy policies when signing up for platforms like Instagram and when I have updated apps in the past, however I don’t often consider the full extent of how they use my information. After analyzing my activity over a full day, I do plan to take more consideration into what information I am sharing and platforms are collecting as I interact with various media.