Marketing data for a pregnant woman is particularly sought after by advertisers. In an attempt to avoid data-collection, Janet Vertesi, assistant professor of sociology at Princeton University, tried to hide her pregnancy from the internet. She ensured there was no mention on social media, used Tor to browse baby related websites, and used cash or gift cards when buying baby related items.
Vertesi presented on big data at the Theorizing the Web conference in Brooklyn on Friday, where she discussed how she hid her pregnancy, the challenges she faced and how the experience sheds light on the overall political and social implications of data-collecting bots and cookies.
"My story is about big data, but from the bottom up," she said. "From a very personal perspective of what it takes to avoid being collected, being tracked and being placed into databases."
