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The Conversation
The Conversation
Kassem Fawaz, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The hidden cost of convenience: How your data pulls in hundreds of billions of dollars for app and social media companies

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Many apps and social media platforms collect detailed information about you as you use them, and sometimes even when you're not using them. Malte Mueller/fStop via Getty images

You wake up in the morning and, first thing, you open your weather app. You close that pesky ad that opens first and check the forecast. You like your weather app, which shows hourly weather forecasts for your location. And the app is free!

But do you know why it’s free? Look at the app’s privacy settings. You help keep it free by allowing it to collect your information, including:

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