In our last article we looked at what it is and how to protect it, which you can read here if you missed it. But the value is truly in the eye of the beholder, which is why I want to explore what it’s really worth so we can all make better decisions on how we use it.
How much is your online identity worth to others?
In our article “What is your online identity?” we identified there are some good intentions behind collecting and storing your data. Even we collect and use your data to provide our goods and services, while also allowing us to constantly improve on the value we offer. You can find information about how we collect and store data in our Privacy Policy.
So some of the data which forms your online identity helps us provide value, making it very valuable to us and our mission. While we do take steps to limit the data we collect, it really is priceless.
Facebook Casestudy
For companies such as facebook which make most of their revenue from advertising, your data is used to target you with personalised advertisements.
"In the third quarter of 2021, Facebook's total advertising revenue amounted to roughly 28.2 billion U.S. dollars. Other revenue streams generated 734 million U.S. dollars in revenues."
According to Meta, facebook has approximately 2.7 Billion monthly active users. So from this information we could estimate each active user was worth on average 3.48 Billion USD.
Monthly Active Users: Users who had used facebook in the last 30 days.
Estimated worth of each active user calculation: (Q3’21 Revenue / 3 Months) / Monthly Active Users
So you can see your data is worth billions to facebook, but how about the criminals of the world
Your Data on the Dark Web
You may have heard of the deep and dark web before, which even I admit sounds quite scary before you know what it is. It’s simply the part of the internet which you need a special browser to access and websites which won’t appear on google. Because of the privacy the dark web provides, many criminals use it and can even sell your identity.
We found a whole list of what you can find what the average price of your data is on the dark web at www.privacyaffairs.com. See below some figures which jumped out to us.
|
Dark Web Product
|
Average Price ($USD)
|
|---|---|
|
Cloned Mastercard or Visa with PIN
|
$25
|
|
Credit card details
|
$150+
|
|
Stolen Paypal Account Details
|
$30+
|
|
Hacked Facebook account
|
$65
|
|
NSW (Australia) drivers license
|
$20
|
You may be surprised on how little your information is worth to others. This makes it easier and cheaper for criminals to exploit it. Making it even more important to protect it.
How much is your online identity worth to you?
- Is using this free service or getting this free material worth the information they’re asking for
- What information do you want to protect – value of information – we protect what we value
- How much is your identity worth to you?
- What are you willing to do, to protect your identity
Is using a free service like facebook worth it. Most of the time it’s worth allowing them to use your data. But is a website offering money rewards trustworthy enough or worth the risk? It’s up to you, and there are plenty of ways you can do to make it safer. Which we explored in our previous article which you can read here.
Always remember you're in the drivers seat for your privacy and your protection online. It's your choices which make all the difference.
As always to your success,
Peter Harvey