Privacy and Karma: You Pay With Data — What Do You Get in Return?

When you use Google Maps for free, you are not using a free service. You are giving your location, routes, and travel times — and this data is monetized through advertising and third-party sales. «If the product is free — you are the product» has become a meme, but it represents a real economic model that has fundamentally changed the relationship between people and technology.

Shoshana Zuboff, professor at Harvard Business School, calls this model «surveillance capitalism». In her 2019 book, she describes how technology companies extract «behavioral surplus» — data about what we do, think, and feel — and transform it into predictive products sold to advertisers.

How the Data Economy Works

The modern data economy operates on logic that most people don't fully understand.

Data collection. Every interaction with digital devices leaves a trace: which sites you visit, for how long, what you watch, what you click, what you write (even in «private» mode), where you are physically located, who you communicate with, what you buy, what you search for. This is called «behavioral data» — and it is enormously valuable.

Processing and profiling. This data is aggregated and processed to create detailed psychographic profiles. Cambridge Analytica gained access to data from 87 million Facebook users through a quiz app — and used it for micro-targeted political advertising during the 2016 elections.

Predictive products. The end product is not data but predictions. «This user has a 73% probability of buying X within 48 hours». «This user is in an emotionally vulnerable state and receptive to Y». This is what is sold to advertisers and other data buyers.

The Gap Between «I Have Nothing to Hide» and Reality

«I have nothing to hide» is the most common argument against caring about privacy. Edward Snowden answered it precisely: «Saying you don't need privacy because you have nothing to hide is like saying you don't need free speech because you have nothing to say.»

Assumption 1: «Data is only used for advertising.» No. Data is used by insurance companies for differentiated rates, by employers to screen candidates, by banks for credit scoring, by governments for surveillance. Your data today may be used against you in the future — in contexts you cannot currently foresee.

Assumption 2: «I have no secrets.» Privacy is not only about secrets. It is space for personal life, development, and experimentation. People behave differently when they know they're being watched — this is called the «observer effect» or Foucault's «Panopticon». Surveillance changes behavior even of innocent people.

Assumption 3: «This is reversible.» Data is stored indefinitely. What you searched online 10 years ago may be in a database whose breach occurs tomorrow. Privacy, once lost, is difficult to restore.

The Karma of Consent: You Vote With Your Clicks

From a karma perspective, digital choices are a form of consent. Every time you click «Accept all cookies» without reading — you consent. When you use a platform whose business model is based on selling your data — you support that model. When you share personal information knowing the risks — you accept them.

This is not an accusation. Information asymmetry is enormous: technology companies spend billions on psychologists and designers who make opting out of surveillance maximally inconvenient. «Dark patterns» are design techniques that make you consent without thinking. The «Accept All» button is large and blue. «Customize» is small, gray, and requires ten clicks.

But awareness of how the system works is already a form of responsibility. How our online activity creates karma — read more in our article on honesty and deception in psychology. About how digital behavior reflects our values — in our article on digital karma.

5 Privacy Protection Practices

1. Use Privacy-Respecting Browsers and Search Engines

Firefox, Brave, DuckDuckGo — alternatives to Chrome and Google that don't collect search history or build user profiles. The transition takes 10 minutes. This is the easiest first step.

2. Regularly Review App Permissions

Go to your phone settings and check which apps have access to your location, microphone, camera, and contacts. Often you'll discover that a flashlight app «somehow» requires access to contacts. Revoke permissions not needed for the app's function.

3. Read Privacy Policies (at Least Briefly)

This seems unrealistic — but services exist (such as Terms of Service; Didn't Read) that rate privacy policies and provide brief summaries. Use them before registering with a new service.

4. Use Two-Factor Authentication and a Password Manager

A compromised account means losing control over all data in it. A password manager (Bitwarden, 1Password) makes secure behavior convenient.

5. Periodically «Detox» Your Data

Check what data Google stores about you (myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy). Delete search history, YouTube history, location history. Most platforms allow this — few people know it's possible. Read more about technology ethics in our article on AI ethics.

Your Digital Honesty

Privacy is not paranoia. It is the right to a space in which you exist without constant observation and evaluation. It is a condition for authentic development. It is a choice about what kind of technological future you want to support through your actions. Take the test at karm.top in the «honesty» category — and see how your digital choices align with your stated values.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a VPN protect my privacy? Partially. A VPN hides your IP address and encrypts traffic — but doesn't protect against tracking through cookies, browser fingerprinting, and Google/Facebook accounts you're logged into.

My data has already «leaked» — is it worth caring about privacy now? Yes. Every additional piece of data you don't provide reduces risk. Past data breaches don't mean future data should be compromised too.

Isn't this too complicated for an ordinary person? All five steps above can be implemented over a weekend — without technical knowledge. Start with one: replace Google with DuckDuckGo. It takes two minutes.