"or have otherwise obtained"

February 27, 2016 7:02 PM

Data broker Acxiom has released a tool About The Data to let you see (some of) the data they have and sell on you.

"in an era of mass surveillance, the surveillance apparatus doesn’t care about our individual story. Instead Big Data is interested in broader statistical profiles of populations. "

How much is your data worth? Price list

posted by the man of twists and turns (21 comments total)

I'm not sure if I want to give these guys my email address and a password :-(
posted by thecjm at 7:04 PM on February 27, 2016 [6 favorites]

Burner email. Spin up an email somewhere, get the confirmation, once you can login, delete the account.
posted by eriko at 7:06 PM on February 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

SpamGourmet.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 7:15 PM on February 27, 2016

I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how bad their data on me is. And I'm not going to fix it for them.
posted by jferg at 7:16 PM on February 27, 2016

trust me, we already know it
posted by koeselitz at 7:17 PM on February 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

They can't even verify mine... I'm off the grid, maaaan.
posted by FatherDagon at 7:17 PM on February 27, 2016 [2 favorites]

FYI, it only works for Americans, which isn't obvious until after you have already given them your email address.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:21 PM on February 27, 2016 [4 favorites]

V. Teng, who was a programmer before she was a musician, has a hymn for this occasion.
posted by hleehowon at 7:38 PM on February 27, 2016 [7 favorites]

Couldn't verify my account (despite trying current and former addresses). I assume that means the data they have on me is at least partially messed up. I may be "the product" but apparently I'm on the "open box" shelf.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 7:44 PM on February 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Here are the links to opt out without having to register and see what data about you they already have:

http://www.acxiom.com/about-acxiom/privacy/online-advertising-products-optout/
https://isapps.acxiom.com/optout/optout.aspx

posted by ancillary at 8:09 PM on February 27, 2016 [5 favorites]

To save you the trouble, here are the fields you're asked to fill out after verifying your account via e-mail, with * indicating required:

Full First Name*
Middle Name
Last Name*
Suffix

Street Address*
P.O. Box, Apt, Suite
City*
State*
ZIP*

Birth Year*
Birth Month*
Birth Day*

Last 4 of SSN*

Perhaps interestingly enough, it would not verify my identity of being one Hamilton Fish, V, who had spent some time in Cambridge residing in Thayer Hall South some time ago, who was destined for a life of heartbreak being born the day after Valentine's Day. They claim: "For security reasons, we do not store the last four digits of your SSN. You will need to re-enter it before submitting this page." Which is great. Thanks for storing everything else for eternity.
posted by herrdoktor at 8:14 PM on February 27, 2016 [2 favorites]

To save you the trouble, here are the fields you're asked to fill out after verifying your account...

Does anyone think this stunt smells phishy?

Bart Farkas is not so easily fooled!
posted by adept256 at 8:45 PM on February 27, 2016

Well, apparently I have a kid I don't know about, and only bought 4 things on my primary credit card last year. And made about 2/3 of what I actually make. But they know what kind of car I drive and that I've bought PC components and books online. Minority report it ain't.

One company's individual picture of your habits isn't really the concern, it's when several of these data brokers are brought together into a complete profile, or fed directly to the NSA, that the panopticon starts to get an accurate picture.
posted by T.D. Strange at 9:55 PM on February 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

One company's individual picture of your habits isn't really the concern, it's when several of these data brokers are brought together into a complete profile, or fed directly to the NSA, that the panopticon starts to get an accurate picture.


BUTTLE
posted by louche mustachio at 12:04 AM on February 28, 2016 [8 favorites]

Burner email. Spin up an email somewhere, get the confirmation, once you can login, delete the account.

You're still looking up you though?
Which is another data point they now have.

It's all about the fingerprinting, metadata and inference now.
Trackers are just spam, the real bastards can spot your digital gait.
posted by fullerine at 12:05 AM on February 28, 2016 [3 favorites]

Panopticlick.
posted by Solomon at 12:45 AM on February 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

I was born in 1921 and have a 7 year old child? No wonder I feel so exhausted.
posted by Aznable at 5:43 AM on February 28, 2016 [6 favorites]

I know Acxiom developers. They are one of the largest employers in the state. This is for you to help them verify and improve the data they have on you. Do with that information what you will.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:30 AM on February 28, 2016 [3 favorites]

> Vienna Teng - The Hymn Of Acxiom


This.
posted by hank at 3:38 PM on February 28, 2016

apparently my cat has a car loan?
posted by indubitable at 7:27 PM on February 28, 2016

"An individual in this household has an interest in homeopathic products. Source: self reported."

Now that you mention it, tricking vendors of homeopathic products into wasting their money buying my marketing info, rather than that of potential customers, actually is something I'm rather keen on. How did you know?

Except for some details about the home I live in and my age, just about everything they have is completely inaccurate. In fact, their data is so aweful it's tempting to wonder if they've generated artificially bad entries specifically in order to lure those of us who care about privacy into a false sense of security. I wonder how much the secret "LIFESTYLE - PRIVACY NUT" category list costs?
posted by eotvos at 5:31 PM on February 29, 2016