Uncontrolled data sharing is a process in which a user gradually loses control over their personal information, often without realising it. Every time you create a new account, install an app, click the ‘accept’ button, or post a photo or comment, you are giving up a piece of your privacy. The problem is that this happens in a piecemeal, intermittent and seemingly harmless way. Individual decisions may seem trivial, but taken together they lead to serious consequences.
From a technical point of view, even a simple app whose functionality seems harmless (e.g. a torch) may request access to contacts, location or the phone’s storage. In practice, most users do not read the terms and conditions or privacy policies, accepting the scope of permissions ‘blindly’. As a result, we do not know what data is being collected, to whom it has been disclosed, how long it will be stored, or how it might be used in the future. It is precisely this lack of knowledge, awareness and real control that defines the uncontrolled sharing of data.
The erosion of privacy on the internet does not happen suddenly, but is a quiet and long-term process. It works like a drop wearing away a rock: individual instances of data sharing do not cause concern, but over time they build up a complete profile of the user. Every post, photo or comment is a single ‘grain of sand’ which, when taken together, forms a detailed picture of a person: their age, family relationships, state of health, interests, shopping habits and lifestyle. For third parties – including cybercriminals – these are pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that can be gradually pieced together by combining information from various platforms and services.
The consequences of the loss of privacy extend far beyond personalised advertising. Possession of demographic, health, location and behavioural data makes it possible not only to predict a user’s behaviour, but also to target them with specific forms of information manipulation, including false, ‘tailor-made’ messages. There is also a real risk of tracking – both digital and physical. Location data from transport, fitness or social media apps can reveal a person’s place of residence, daily routes and the times they are away from home.
An additional problem is the permanence of digital traces. Once shared, data can be archived, copied, aggregated and resold for years, often without the user’s knowledge. Over time, users lose track of where they have accounts, what information has been stored there and who actually has access to it. In this sense, the loss of privacy is not a one-off event, but a process whose effects accumulate and are difficult to reverse.