How many times have tech companies promised to make things better? They’ve vowed to curb fake news, yet as of 2024, up to 40% of content shared on social media is false. They promised enhanced privacy, but privacy means less engagement, which in turn means less revenue from clicky ads. So, it’s private only until it becomes profitable. They assured us they’d protect our data, but since they profit from it, to the highest bidder, it goes. They pledged transparency about their algorithms, but those remain trade secrets, apparently too precious to share. The list goes on and on. Promises are made, and that’s about it. The latest broken promise? Google’s commitment to curb the effects of the echo chamber.

How did Google break this promise? Try logging into YouTube, turning off your watch history, and then navigating to the homepage. How many videos do you see? Zero? Shocking, isn’t it? When your watch history is turned off, YouTube just presents you with a blank homepage, innocently claiming they don’t know what to serve you. Contrast this with an anonymous user who receives a fully populated homepage. YouTube could easily offer popular or random videos; instead, they degrade your experience. This is a ploy to force you into re-enabling your watch history, thereby funneling more tailored content your way and, ultimately, trapping you in your own echo chamber.

In light of these multitude of broken promises, we, as users, need to take control of our own data. It might seem daunting, but there are actionable steps you can take to prevent exploitation by big tech:

1. Guard Your Real Information: Don’t use your real information online unless absolutely necessary. This guidance was emphasized at the dawn of the internet, but now everyone seems to think it’s safe to use real information everywhere. Who propagated this idea? Tech companies. And why wouldn’t they? They can’t target their ads effectively if they don’t know who you are.
2. Block Ads Religiously: Not everything produced by humans deserves monetary reward (not ad-related, but consider Backpack Kid’s dance). Another broken promise is unintrusive ads. Remember, ads track you, potentially revealing your identity even under an alias. Employ ad blockers and anti-trackers, such as AdBlock Plus and Privacy Badger.
3. Limit Cookies: Allow only strictly necessary cookies. Cookies are a common method advertisers use to track you.

These steps are just the beginning, but mastering them puts you ahead of the curve. Stay informed, stay vigilant, and above all, stay safe in the digital world.