In this day and age of internet penetration, the word Data is a taboo. The data subjects turn a blind eye to it and the data controllers just brush it under the carpet. The providers of this data are not privy to how much of their data is being used and to what purposes but they understand the transactional cost behind it to use the said service for free. In the grand barter of “Your Data = Free Service”, data privacy is ignored, nay, neglected.

Judith Duportail, a French Journalist writes in an article in The Guardian about data privacy and its pitfalls. She says, “I asked Tinder for my data. It sent me 800 pages of my deepest, darkest secrets. The dating app knows me better than I do, but these reams of intimate information are just the tip of the iceberg. What if my data is hacked — or sold?” Tinder’s privacy policy clearly states, “You should not expect that your personal information, chats, or other communications will always remain secure”

In other words, it’s not by accident that you receive advertisement on your social feed for an innovative product which allows you to never forget your keys when you share with your potential date that “hilarious story” of you getting locked out of your car because you forgot the keys inside.

This means what city you were born, where you grew up, which school you went to and with whom, what your grades were, what your projects were, your internship, first job, salaries, interests and your colleagues, can be used, reused, abused and sold with absolute consent and authority from the data subject. In essence, the user is curating content about his / her personal life and presenting it as a chest full of their professional life.