This series is designed to help people to understand modern technology, and become more confident in using computing devices. It is not designed to educate experts.
The author is involved in tutoring older students at SeniorNet, a New Zealand wide organisation. SeniorNet hopes that students will feel more confident in using their computing devices as a result of the learning opportunities offered. This series of articles shares that hope.
Meta takes your data and sells you to advertisers. So does Google. And Microsoft. And Apple. And car makers, and TV makers. And others too!. There is a whole huge business built on your data, and the ads shown to you.
There must be a value on this data, surely. How much is knowing about you worth?
Meta has finally put a figure on this. Want to guess what they think your data is worth?
$1 a year, perhaps. Maybe even $2 a year. How much would you charge for that data?
Because regulators in Europe insist that you should give explicit consent for the collection of your data which will then be onsold to whoever pays, Meta has finally put a figure on this. For a monthly subscription, you can opt out of both data collection and advertising on Meta and its many tentacles (Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, to name three). So finally we have an answer to that question.
What is “Free” worth?
I can only give you the value in euros because the subscription is available only in the EU, EEA, or Switzerland. We know where the EU is. What is the EEA? It’s the EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. And Switzerland has been added to the group.
Come on now, what is the value?
It’s drum roll please, wait for it
……….€119.88. Per user per year. In real money (New Zealand dollars) at the exchange rate when this was written, that was $217.87.
So now you know how much Meta would charge you for their “free” service. That is just for Meta, and their offerings. There are the other businesses offering you services for “free”, in return for your data. Add in Google, Microsoft, Apple etc. etc.
Wow. These companies are giving you “free” stuff, in return for your data which they on sell to advertisers and other people (insurers, banks, anybody who wants to know more about you). Think of the free stuff you are getting, and the value of that. Each year your data must bring them in a tidy amount, and you hardly notice your privacy being raped.
Isn’t 21st-century commerce great?