Don’t Roll Over for Big Tech: 7 Digital Privacy Myths, Debunked

If you’re reading this, chances are the headlines have caught your eye: claims that your phone is listening, that everything you do online is being tracked, that Big Tech is always trailing you. Maybe you’ve heard the term “surveillance capitalism” tossed around, or even installed a privacy tool once—only to give up when it got too complicated or didn’t seem to help.

It’s not that you don’t care. It’s just that caring feels like a full-time job. The threats are invisible, the advice is confusing, and the tech giants are too big for us to bite back. So why even try?

This article is for you: the skeptical, the curious, and the digital underdogs who say, “I get it, but I’ve got a life to live.” Here, we bust the most common privacy myths that are keeping people (like you!) from reclaiming your personal info from the claws of Big Tech.

Digital Privacy Myth # 1: “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

This might be the most common digital privacy myth out there. It sounds reasonable enough: Why should I care if companies track me? I’m not doing anything illegal. I don’t have any secrets worth stealing.

But privacy isn’t about hiding something shameful—it’s about boundaries.

We all draw boundaries around what we share and who we share it with. You probably don’t post your bank balance at the grocery store. You don’t hand your medical records to your neighbor. And (I hope) you close the door when you use the bathroom at a dinner party. It's not like what humans do in the bathroom is a scandalous secret, but it is private.

Online, boundaries are harder to see—but they still matter. Each time you browse the web, use an app, or accept default settings, small bits of information trail behind you. These scraps are stitched together into behavioral profiles based on prediction. And even though no single company sees the full picture, each one gets enough of your scent to decide how to target you.

I Still Don't Care

Maybe you'll care if you see what surveillance capitalist companies do with that data.

What’s sold or shared isn't you, but access to your digital twin: someone who shops like you, scrolls like you, fears what you fear, and wants what you want. That version of you—fragmented but still powerful—is used to shape what you see, what you’re offered, and which path you're quietly nudged down.

Here’s how it works:

• You’re placed into categories—like “expecting parent,” “low-income renter,” or “anxious traveler”—based on your behavior and habits.

• You may be shown different ads, prices, job listings, or opportunities depending on how you’ve been profiled.

• You’re nudged in subtle ways, targeted not as an individual but as a type.

• You rarely know what’s been inferred about you, and you have little way to correct it.

• You’re treated differently—from other people with different profiles and from the way you would be treated sans profiling—all without your awareness or meaningful consent.

So it doesn't matter if you have no criminal record or are using the internet only to look at videos of baby ducks. Businesses want your data because they can monetize it. They use that data to steer you like a dog on a leash, relying on information they were never entitled to in the first place. (And as you'll see later, they use your data to steer other people as well.)

BONE TO CHEW ON

Even the most well-behaved dog doesn’t want strangers reaching into its food bowl. Privacy isn’t about hiding treats—it’s about having the right to guard what’s yours.

Digital Privacy Myth # 2: “It’s just the price we pay for free products and convenience.”

We’ve all said it: “Sure, they collect data—but it’s a free app.” Or “I like that my smart speaker knows my morning routine.” If the tech works and it makes life easier, why mess with it?

Here’s the catch: When a product is free, the business model relies on turning your behavior into a revenue stream. (They have to make money somehow, after all.)

Your location data can be sold to data brokers, revealing that you visited a medical clinic, a recovery center, or a place of worship—and this information can end up in the hands of marketers, insurers, legal authorities, or political campaigns. Your browsing history can shape the prices you're shown, making products more expensive for you than for your neighbor. Even email metadata, such as who you talk to and when, can be mined to map your behavior.

So the goal of all this free, convenient tech isn’t to serve you. It’s to study you.

You don’t have to swear off all technology to push back. You can choose tools that are designed to protect your privacy from the start. There are alternatives for almost everything—private browsers, ethical email providers, encrypted messaging apps—that offer convenience without siphoning and selling your private data.

BONE TO CHEW ON

Free tech can feel like a treat—but sometimes it comes with an invisible collar. It works, it’s convenient, and you barely notice what you’re giving up. Until one day, you realize you’re not the one holding the lead.

Digital Privacy Myth # 3: “My life isn’t interesting enough for Big Tech to care about.”

You’re not a CEO, a politician, or a celebrity. So why would anyone care what you watch, click, or scroll past?

Believe it or not, Big Tech cares because you're average. What you do places you in a categories based on, for example your:

• ZIP code: Puts you in a “geo-demographic” bucket (e.g. “suburban liberal homeowners”)

• Browsing habits: Behavioral bucket (e.g. “environmentally conscious shopper,” “DIY skincare enthusiast”)

• Device type: Tech-use profile (e.g. “mobile-first,” “iOS user”)

• Mood (inferred): Figures out your intent or emotional-state tag (e.g. “anxious,” “curious,” “decisive”). (Even though mood fluctuates, your behavior over time may signal frequent stress, sadness, excitement, etc.)

So you might be tagged as something like:

Urban professional, 30s, solo renter in high-density area. No car ownership; high rideshare use. Heavy mobile app engagement—TikTok usage peaks late evening.

Nighttime purchase behavior includes skincare and meal kits; browsing patterns suggest emotional responsiveness after 10 p.m.

Follows productivity and habit-tracking content; high engagement with self-improvement and “better you” messaging.

Regular listener of true crime and psychological podcasts.

Likely segment: comfort-seeker, high digital receptivity, emotion-driven late-night spender.

Behavioral indicators: self-optimization loop, impulse purchase tendency, responds to reassurance framing.

The more info like this they collect from “regular people,” the better they can predict what other regular people will do next. And they use all of it to shape what you see, when you see it, and how you react.

For instance, if thousands of people with this same profile tend to click on productivity apps after 10 p.m., or buy sleep gummies after scrolling true crime TikToks, the system learns to push those products to others in that group.

You don't need to be famous or exciting because you’re not the main character in the surveillance story. You’re the test case...one of millions used to forecast what your demographic might click, buy, or believe next.

BONE TO CHEW ON

Imagine trying to train a puppy. If the puppy acts randomly, it’s hard to teach. But if it responds consistently to rewards or routines, you can shape its behavior over time.

Now imagine you’re the puppy, and the algorithm is using treats (like dopamine hits from social likes, outrage headlines, or tempting discounts) to make you behave in ways that keep it profitable.

--> Want to start hiding your tracks? Check out this article on how to "poison" your data.

Digital Privacy Myth # 4: “I can’t fight an algorithm. What difference would it make?”

This is where privacy fatigue sets in. The system already has your data, your profile is built, and the ads feel uncannily tailored. So what’s the point?

The point is that algorithms never stop learning. You may have already given them your past, but why give them your future, too? Instead, you can:

• Slow the tracking.

• Confuse the model.

• Reduce the accuracy of the model's predictions.

Even small disruptions matter. Using a tracker-blocking browser, rejecting unnecessary cookies, choosing privacy-forward apps, or verifying an account with a fake phone number—each of these creates a gap. Enough gaps, and the system can’t predict with confidence.

Don't worry about the past; whatever the data scrapers have, they have. But every time you take a step that wasn’t engineered into your routine by a platform or advertiser, you remind the system (and yourself) that you’re not just a stream of data.

--> Want to clean up some of your past data—like social media posts, images, data your various accounts are holding, etc.? Read the free e-book DISENGAGE: Escape the Leash of Big Tech, Scams and Surveillance—Everyday Resistance for the Digital Underdog.

BONE TO CHEW ON

When a well-trained dog suddenly stops responding to a familiar command, the human has to pause and recalibrate. Disrupt the pattern, and you shift the power.

Digital Privacy Myth # 5: “Privacy is dead. Everyone’s being tracked, so why should I care?”

This belief is seductive because it feels both cynical and realistic. If everything you do is already being tracked, what’s the point of pushing back?

But the truth is more nuanced. Most digital surveillance happens because it’s easy, not because it’s inevitable. The more friction you add—through privacy-oriented settings, tools, and habits—the less data gets collected, and the harder it is to stitch together a full profile of you.

More importantly, caring about your privacy sends a signal that the status quo isn’t acceptable. Companies shift when users push back. Laws change when people get fed up. And platforms adjust when enough users leave, opt out, or start hiding or poisoning their data.

You may not be able to completely stop being tracked, but that doesn't mean you have to make it easy for them.

BONE TO CHEW ON

When the whole pack starts barking, even the biggest dog takes notice.

Digital Privacy Myth # 6: “I’m not tech-savvy enough to do any of this.”

Taking back a little control doesn’t require technical skills. It just requires being open to trying something new.

It’s normal to feel unsure about installing a browser extension or switching from WhatsApp to Signal. Tools like these can seem like they’re meant for people with tech degrees.

But most of these tools are built to be simple. You don’t need to understand how they work, you just need to know which ones to use. Turning off location permissions, using a masked email instead of a Google or Facebook login, or installing a browser that blocks trackers are small steps that reduce your exposure without upending your daily life.

I can tell you from experience: The more you do, the more skilled you become—until reaching for privacy-first tools becomes second nature.

You don’t need to do everything at once. Just making a single change can shift the way you feel online—less exposed, less powerless, and more in control.

BONE TO CHEW ON

Dogs often take their cues from each other. When one hesitates or breaks from routine, the rest start to notice. You don’t have to bark loudly—you just have to break the pattern of surveillance.

Digital Privacy Myth # 7: “Even if I do all that, there's no point.”

Here’s the myth that sits beneath all the others: the sense that even if you change your behavior, it won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

But every system depends on participation. Every profile, every algorithm, every ad campaign relies on a steady flow of clean, compliant data. The moment that data becomes less predictable, less personal, or less available, the system weakens.

Even better, when you protect your own data, you’re also protecting others. You normalize boundaries for your family. You set a precedent at work. You help make privacy a cultural value, not a personal quirk.

You’re not alone...you’re just early!

BONE TO CHEW ON

Big shifts often start small. Every time you dodge a tracker or growl at a shady pop-up, you make it easier for the next underdog to do the same.

You’re Not Here to Heel

The system is vast, but it still runs on your participation—on your clicks, your habits, your consent. And that means your actions still carry weight, even if they feel small.

You don’t need to rebuild your digital life from scratch, but noticing what’s being taken, questioning what’s default, and choosing tools that respect your boundaries can start to shift the balance...both for you and for others watching quietly from the sidelines.