Data brokers are out of control. While we think of them gathering data in order to target us with ads, they can actually use the targeted ad system (real-time bidding) to collect vast quantities of personal information. It’s a very shady business and the primary players are trying hard to obfuscate what they’re doing. Thankfully, we have people like my guest, Zach Edwards, whose investigations are ripping the cover off of these unscrupulous practices.

Interview Notes

• Zach Edwards: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zedwards/ 
• Zach at Silent Push: https://www.silentpush.com/team/zach-edwards/ 
• Using email aliases: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-to-use-email-aliases-part-1/ 
• Disable mobile ad ID (iOS): https://ssd.eff.org/module/how-to-get-to-know-iphone-privacy-and-security-settings#disable-ad-tracking
• Disable mobile ad ID (Android): https://ssd.eff.org/module/how-to-get-to-know-android-privacy-and-security-settings#disable-ad-tracking

Further Info

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Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

• 0:00:00: Intro
• 0:01:15: Last call for dragon coins!
• 0:01:57: Interview setup
• 0:03:01: Lingo definitions
• 0:05:05: How did you get into ad tracking as a profession?
• 0:12:57: How does Real-Time Bidding work?
• 0:16:16: Who are the big players in this space?
• 0:28:25: How does RTB leak data about us?
• 0:42:47: How much info about us is actually inferred rather than explicit?
• 0:46:09: Who else is looking to get hold of this ad data?
• 0:50:33: How else is our data being abused?
• 0:54:13: How does my data being leaked impact other people?
• 0:56:04: Are government agencies doing enough to protect our data?
• 0:57:53: Have we managed to fix any of the RTB system problems?
• 0:59:56: Is there a way to have targeted ads AND privacy?
• 1:05:31: So what can we do about this?
• 1:09:26: Wrap-up: revisiting email aliases
• 1:12:51: Patron bonus content preview
• 1:13:33: Looking ahead