# Privacy

In what world is it normal to log in to your computer and see that product you were just thinking about, even though you never typed it into your computer? Ours -- apparently.

Privacy remains a huge concern with how easy technology has weaved a permanent place in our day to day lives. As [Haridy](https://newatlas.com/computers/facebook-not-secretly-listening-conversations/) wrote, there is always an "eerie synchronicity" between our online results and our inner thoughts. Although there is no proof that smartphones are listening to us, you can't help but think about the possibility that they are listening.

When people get concerned about their phones listening to them, I immediately wonder if they use the "Hey Siri" function on their iPhone or use an Amazon Alexa or a Google Home. Those technologies are designed to always be listening in some way or another. I have personally never used them as that -- of all things I do while using technology -- crosses a line for me.

When I write these reading responses, I always note down that parts of the reading I want to talk about on this page and come back to it to fully write it out. As I read Kernighan's example of searching "car accident" and the results deducing he was from New Jersey simply from his IP address, I wanted to jot it down. I went to my search bar and typed the word "hack" to get onto HackMD. Before I clicked it, I noticed that there was a new option in the search results that never showed up in Boston -- Hackensack, New Jersey. I went home early for Thanksgiving and it seems that my computer has recognized this as well. Like Kernighan's example, I did not actively tell my computer I was now in New Jersey. My computer was simply able to deduce this all on its own and provide me with the results it thinks I am looking for. It is ironic that the example in the reading was about New Jersey, and now my real-life application about this information is, once again, about New Jersey.

Upon searching my name into google, I first get my instagram account. This is not super surprising. The first picture that comes up is actually my cousin -- she has a Youtube channel. This was also not super surprising. I do dislike, however, that you can easily find where I went to high school -- or when my grandfather died from his obituary. That information feels personal, and it's scary how readily accessible it is. And yet, these two things that make me most uncomfortable were things that I did not post. My school posted pages with my name in it and the newspaper posted my name in the online version of the obituary. It is uncomfortable having your life out there by the choices of someone else.

In looking at what every browser knows about you, I was most taken aback by the fact they knew how much battery my computer had. I do not really know much about the technicalities of my computer (like the CPU or the OS), so that information was not super jarring. But I had no idea websites could tell how much battery my computer had.

Lastly, the most concerning part of this assignment for me was the Spokeo search. I do not want to include screenshots since there was my address in the back of it -- but when I searched my father's phone number our house came up on google maps in the background. I found it odd, however, that when I searched my own number, some random address popped up. So it's accurate for some numbers, but inaccurate for others.

Whenever I think about privacy on the internet, I am always scared at the ease with which people can find someone if they really want to. It took very limited effort to find my school and dead grandfather, so I cannot imagine how quick it would be if someone wanted to find out more personal information.