I argued for data privacy but then my own smartwatch sold my running route.

I always told people to turn off location sharing, but I left mine on for my fitness tracker. Last month, a targeted ad showed a map of my exact 5-mile loop through Grant Park. Anyone else have a tech rule they broke with weird results?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_troy25d ago

Classic case of do as I say, not as I do. You were the privacy preacher and your own gadget snitched on you. That's honestly pretty funny. The ad showing your exact loop is a perfect slap in the face. Serves you right for leaving that setting on. Now you're just another data point they sold.

the_iris25d ago

Hold up, that's not really fair. Most of us have to pick between privacy and using the stuff we paid for. Turning off location kills half the features on a fitness watch. The creepy part isn't that you left it on, it's that some company took your personal run and turned it into an ad without asking. That's just sneaky.

marywilson25d ago

Look at it from the company's side. They need location data to make the maps and fitness features work right. That ad probably came from a different part of their system they think is helpful, like showing local deals. You agreed to their terms when you set up the watch, so they didn't really do anything wrong. It's just how the tech works now.