I tuned into a regional channel and there was an equivalent of the ‘The Big Debate’ going on (the NDTV show hosted by Barkha Dutta featuring contemporary issues of social relevance). The topic was ‘How Facebook has access to almost all customer related information once you are a user’. Another incident that took place recently and is similar in nature is that of the WhatsApp notifications in fine-print that allowed Facebook to use our phone numbers.
These two episodes caused quite a furore. While the latter is still under implementation (and therefore the customers are at a stage where they can revoke the settings to disable Facebook’s access to their phone numbers), the former issue has been making the news for quite some time now.
The subject being talked about is customer privacy. It is a very nascent area in India. We do not generally know what we sign up for. The percentage of people that read the fine-print on product packaging is less than 10 per cent. While marketers spend crores of rupees to get the text right on their packaging, flooding it with all kinds of information, it is unfortunate that so few end up actually reading this.
The various forms of social media have only built on this customer habit. Social media channels have opened up a whole new world with which the common man can interact easily. Social networks store information in far-off locations, rather than on a user’s PC. Though initially started with the idea that it would help an individual stay connected with friends and family, many people besides these are interested in the information that people post on social networks. Hackers, impersonators, debt collectors and organisations looking for profits are using these social networks to obtain customer understanding through data collection. These are used by the companies to customise their offerings as well as sell these databases to advertisers.
As customers, you and I are naive and oblivious to all this. We share personal information freely, not realising that it a lucrative source of commercial benefit to many organisations. We are no longer alarmed when someone seems to have free access to our phone numbers and try and rope us into a variety of marketing efforts. It seems to be so simple that anyone can e-mail us. All these are the undesired or unbargained for outcomes of ‘not reading the fine print’ while accepting the ‘terms and conditions’.
The next time you encounter a situation like this, look for opportunities to opt out of the use of your information for marketing and the sharing of your information with others. You could call a toll-free number or send your request to a customer service e-mail ID. All organisations give you the opportunity to review or request changes to the personal information they collect on you. Look for instructions on how to do this.
After all, if there is no privacy, there is no point being an individual.