The art of tracking is an endangered art in the natural world. In cyberspace, however, the art of tracking consumer behavior and harvesting data has been developed into a fine art and is being further refined constantly. Though there is a business imperative to gather and collate non-personally identifiable data, there is a fine line between providing consumer service through targeted opportunities that customers want to receive and what some consumers and consumer advocates are calling ‘surveillance’ and ‘predatory marketing’.

As a consumer it is good to know what your virtual footprint is, how it is created and how it is tracked. Every time you visit a website where you fill in any kind of form, you are leaving a trace. How do you leave those traces? By accepting electronic ‘cookies’. A cookie is a small data file, unique to each computer, that records information onto your hard drive by a web server. It is the technology that makes online shopping a breeze with a shopping cart that remembers what you’ve placed in it and what you have recently viewed in case you want to go back and get it later. It can remember your user name, previous visits, and your preferences. Using cookie technology can provide a consumer a selection of goods that may be of interest based on their previous purchases, like a new book by your favorite author. When used from a consumer service perspective, cookies can be quite beneficial to customers.

On the other hand, cookies leave crumbs that leave a trail of personal information. With each website you visit and provide information, you are served a cookie. You may have hundreds of cookies sitting on your hard drive right now. That means any number of web servers could be tracking your virtual footprints, peeking at your online purchases, counting how many times you click a link and putting together behavioral profiles based on what you search for and buy. There is a way to control cookies on your computer. If you are using Internet Explorer, click on ‘Tools’, ‘Internet Options’, ‘Privacy’ to see what your cookie settings are. We recommend using the “Block All Cookies” setting. However, many shopping and property search sites require the use of cookies. In that case, we recommend changing your settings to “Medium High” and then switching back to “Block All Cookies” after leaving the site.

There are other ways that you are tracked through your electronic journeying. The information that you freely give on sites like Myspace is all hyperlinked. That means that the data is easy to sort and collate to those so inclined. For example, if there was a new movie being released about a heavy metal band and fast cars aimed at males aged 18- 24, a company can place a criteria in their online advertising so that a banner ad for this movie was placed on each profile that fit a selected search criteria. Talk about target marketing!

As always, be aware and alert as to the information you divulge online, especially during the holidays. Assume that none of your information is confidential unless overtly stated in the website’s privacy policy. Know that your every move online may be tracked by sophisticated technology poised to harvest your data. Remember that technology itself is neutral. It is how it is used that can either be beneficial or detrimental. Stay aware and alert.

Darity Wesley is CEO and Legal Counsel for Privacy Solutions, Inc. a San Diego based consulting firm. Her team of Privacy Gurus® work with you to create policies and procedures to establish the expectation of privacy for your members, clients, customers, prospects, affiliates, associates, employees and vendors. You can reach her at (619)670-9462 or Darity@privacygurus.com