Quick Smart How to stop companies knowing everything about you
Nov 24, 2025
Ray Johnston, a tech reporter and host of Download This Show, dives deep into the complexities of digital privacy. He explains how personal data can manipulate everything from prices to political opinions. Johnston highlights the threats of data brokers and warns against sharing sensitive details with AI. He shares personal anecdotes, revealing shocking insights from auditing his own digital footprint. Ray also offers practical tips to tighten data security, emphasizing the importance of withholding unnecessary information online.
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Privacy Is About Control Not Secrecy
- Personalisation can be convenient but the same systems also profile, manipulate and discriminate.
- Privacy is fundamentally about control over who decides for you and how your data is used.
Data Doesn’t Stay With One Company
- Your data spreads beyond the original company via sales, embedded trackers and data brokers.
- The data economy is leaky: information gets merged, repackaged and shared widely.
Audit Your Digital Footprint First
- Start a digital footprint audit by Googling your name, old addresses, emails and usernames.
- Checking data broker pages and major accounts reveals what’s publicly accessible about you.