Internet businesses have been caught price gouging customers that visit high-end websites: Always clear your cache, cookies
If the recent revelations about the National Security Agency's (NSA) massive data collection and spying schemes on Americans have made you reconsider the state of your privacy, you may be shocked to learn that some online merchants are also now using your personal data to rip you off when you shop online. According to new reports, some Internet businesses are actually tracking users' browsing histories and charging them more for goods and services if they visit "high-end" websites that sell expensive products.
As reported by the U.K.'s Guardian, some online travel merchants, for instance, are charging users more for plane fares and hotel stays if their browsing histories reveal a liking for expensive products and services. Users who visit websites that sell fancy jewelry, for example, or that promote lavish vacations could end up paying more (typically 30%) for the travel services to get there, as opposed to other users whose browsing histories reveal a more frugal approach to life.
To put it another way, some of the very same private data being collected by the occupying federal powers is also being collected by online businesses for the purpose of "customizing" the prices of products for individual users. This means that so-called "rich" folks, or even just people who visit websites that look "rich," could be paying more than everybody else for the same products.
"This sort of targeting undertaken is likely to become more commonplace as online retailers scramble to identify new ways in which people's browsing data can be used to boost online sales," writes Dana Mattioli for the WSJ. "The effort underscores how retailers are becoming bigger users of so-called predictive analytics, crunching reams of data to guess the future shopping habits of customers."
Regularly clearing your cache, browsing in privacy mode can help you save money online
So how can you avoid being taken advantage of while shopping online? The simplest and most obvious way is to activate the "privacy mode" function on your web browser, which will prevent websites from accessing and tracking your personal data.
You can also disable cookies from being stored and tracked by the websites you visit, or at least regularly delete them from your system by going into your browser's settings and clearing them out.
For additional privacy, you can also use search engines like Ixquick, Startpage, and DuckDuckGo, none of which collect and store your personal data. This is important, as many popular search engines such as Google and Bing actively track your activity and exploit it or furnish it to others who do.
If the recent revelations about the National Security Agency's (NSA) massive data collection and spying schemes on Americans have made you reconsider the state of your privacy, you may be shocked to learn that some online merchants are also now using your personal data to rip you off when you shop online. According to new reports, some Internet businesses are actually tracking users' browsing histories and charging them more for goods and services if they visit "high-end" websites that sell expensive products.
As reported by the U.K.'s Guardian, some online travel merchants, for instance, are charging users more for plane fares and hotel stays if their browsing histories reveal a liking for expensive products and services. Users who visit websites that sell fancy jewelry, for example, or that promote lavish vacations could end up paying more (typically 30%) for the travel services to get there, as opposed to other users whose browsing histories reveal a more frugal approach to life.
To put it another way, some of the very same private data being collected by the occupying federal powers is also being collected by online businesses for the purpose of "customizing" the prices of products for individual users. This means that so-called "rich" folks, or even just people who visit websites that look "rich," could be paying more than everybody else for the same products.
"This sort of targeting undertaken is likely to become more commonplace as online retailers scramble to identify new ways in which people's browsing data can be used to boost online sales," writes Dana Mattioli for the WSJ. "The effort underscores how retailers are becoming bigger users of so-called predictive analytics, crunching reams of data to guess the future shopping habits of customers."
Regularly clearing your cache, browsing in privacy mode can help you save money online
So how can you avoid being taken advantage of while shopping online? The simplest and most obvious way is to activate the "privacy mode" function on your web browser, which will prevent websites from accessing and tracking your personal data.
You can also disable cookies from being stored and tracked by the websites you visit, or at least regularly delete them from your system by going into your browser's settings and clearing them out.
For additional privacy, you can also use search engines like Ixquick, Startpage, and DuckDuckGo, none of which collect and store your personal data. This is important, as many popular search engines such as Google and Bing actively track your activity and exploit it or furnish it to others who do.