They Know What You’re Shopping For

Georgia resident Andy Morar is in the market for a BMW. So recently he sent a note to a showroom near Atlanta, using a form on the dealer’s website to provide his name and contact information.

His note went to the dealership—but it also went, without his knowledge, to a company that tracks car shoppers online. In a flash, an analysis of the auto websites Mr. Morar had anonymously visited could be paired with his real name and studied by his local car dealer.

Read the rest of this post on the original site »


Must-Reads from other Web sites

Mitch Lasky

Should Venture Capital Fund Games Companies?

Jill Lepore

Privacy in an Age of Publicity

Chris Dannen

Guys, Who Isn’t Excited for a Facebook RSS Reader?

Rob Walker

15 Ways BuzzFeed Is Toying With Your Faith in Humanity

Nathaniel Mott

Fred Wilson on Twitter’s “Huge, Enormous” Mistake

About Voices

Along with original content and posts from across the Dow Jones network, this section of AllThingsD includes Must-Reads From Other Web Sites — pieces we’ve read, discussions we’ve followed, stuff we like. Six posts from external sites are included here each weekday, but we only run the headlines. We link to the original sites for the rest. These posts are explicitly labeled, so it’s clear that the content comes from other Web sites, and for clarity’s sake, all outside posts run against a pink background.

We also solicit original full-length posts and accept some unsolicited submissions.

Voices is edited by Beth Callaghan.

Partner Advertisement

VentureBeat