What Do Tech Giants Really Do With Your Data?

A handful of technology companies sit at the center of online life. They run the search engines, social networks, app stores, cloud platforms, shopping sites and operating systems that most people use every day. Their services are often free or cheap, and they make money in other ways, chiefly by selling advertising and by using data to improve products and keep users engaged. The question is not whether they collect data. They do. The question is what they collect, how they use it, whom they share it with and what you can control. This guide answers those questions in general terms, then provides a practical approach that works across platforms. Policies change often, so use it as a framework and check current settings. For platform-specific details, see our articles on Google and Facebook, Apple and Amazon.

1. The business models

Company type	How it earns	Data role
Search and social	Advertising	Core: targeting and measurement
Device and software makers	Hardware, subscriptions, services	Supports products, some advertising
Online retail and marketplaces	Sales, advertising, cloud	Recommendations, ads, logistics
Professional and niche networks	Subscriptions, recruiting, ads	Matching, targeting
Cloud and enterprise	Subscriptions	Operations, security

Business model shapes data incentives. Companies that depend on advertising have a direct interest in knowing as much as possible about their users. Companies that sell hardware or subscriptions still collect data for operations and, in some cases, advertising. This is not a moral judgment, only a way to understand why practices differ.

2. What they collect

Broadly speaking, large platforms may collect:

Content you create. Posts, photos, videos, messages, documents and searches.
Account and profile data. Name, email, phone, birth date and payment information.
Device and network data. Device identifiers, IP address, operating system, installed apps and settings.
Location. GPS, Wi-Fi and cell-tower information, and places you visit.
Behavior. Clicks, views, watch time, purchases and interactions.
Contacts and social graph. Who you know and how you interact.
Inferences. Interests, demographics and predictions derived from the above.

3. What they do with it

Personalization

Data powers recommendations, search ranking, maps, autocomplete and spam filtering.

Advertising

Platforms use data to show ads to groups of users likely to respond. Advertisers usually do not receive your name directly, but they can target based on categories and sometimes upload their own customer lists.

Product development

Aggregate data improves products and trains systems such as recommendation and language tools, subject to each company’s policies.

Security and fraud prevention

Companies share data with service providers that process it on their behalf, with partners where you have authorized sharing, with advertisers and measurement firms in aggregated or pseudonymous forms and with governments in response to valid legal requests. Details vary, and policies usually state the categories.

Curious what’s already out there? Wiperts’ 100% Free Diagnosis shows which data brokers are listing your name, home address and phone number. Check your exposure free — it takes about a minute.

4. Where the risks lie

Breaches and misuse

Any stored data can be stolen or misused. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 67,456 personal data breach complaints in 2025, with reported losses of $1.31 billion (ic3.gov).

Consent screens are long and hard to understand. Regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission, enforce against deceptive or unfair practices, and consumer guidance is available at consumer.ftc.gov.

Third-party apps and trackers

Platforms connect to thousands of apps and sites. Data can flow through those connections. See Facebook apps collect and sell personal information.

Cross-platform profiling

Data from one service can enrich another, particularly when you are signed in across products.

Government access

Companies receive legal requests. Transparency reports describe the volume and types. Strong encryption options can limit what a company can disclose.

5. What you can control

Review activity and privacy dashboards

Most platforms provide a dashboard to see and delete categories of data. Start with search, location and ad settings.

Turn off ad personalization

This limits targeting but not all collection.

Restrict permissions

On phones and computers, disable location, microphone, camera and contacts access for apps that do not need them.

Use data download and deletion tools

Request a copy of your data to see what is stored, and delete what you do not want kept. State privacy laws give residents rights to access and delete in many places; the California Privacy Protection Agency explains California’s approach.

Separate accounts and identities

Use different emails for different purposes, and avoid signing in everywhere with a single account.

Block trackers

Use browser protections and extensions. See how to stop websites from tracking your clicks.

Close accounts you do not use

Fewer accounts means less data to protect.

6. What platform settings cannot do

Settings govern what a platform holds and does. They do not control data brokers, which compile profiles from public records, purchases and other sources, and sell or publish them. Nor do they remove content posted by other people. For your name, address and phone number on people-search sites, you must use broker opt-outs, such as Spokeo, the PeopleConnect suppression center and That’s Them. California residents can use the state’s DROP platform at privacy.ca.gov/drop; registered brokers began processing requests on August 1, 2026 and repeat every 45 days.

7. Comparing companies fairly

When people ask which company is “best” for privacy, it helps to compare on specific points rather than slogans.

Question	Why it matters
Is advertising the main revenue?	Shapes incentives
Are controls easy to find and use?	Determines real choice
Can I download and delete data?	Basic transparency
Is end-to-end encryption available for key services?	Limits what the company can read
How does the company handle government requests?	Transparency and safeguards
How long is data kept?	Reduces breach exposure

No company excels at everything. Choose based on your priorities and review settings regularly.

8. Timeline: a cross-platform privacy review

When	Action
Today	Open privacy dashboards for your main accounts
This week	Turn off ad personalization and review permissions
This month	Download your data, delete what you do not need
Every six months	Repeat and close unused accounts

9. Reading a privacy policy in ten minutes

Privacy policies are long, but you can extract the essentials quickly. Search the document for a few keywords: “sell”, “share”, “retain”, “delete”, “advertising”, “partners” and “law enforcement”. For each, read the surrounding paragraph. Look for lists of data categories collected, the purposes of use, the categories of third parties that receive data and the rights offered to you. Note whether the company describes how long it keeps data and how to request deletion. If the policy is vague or contradicts the product’s marketing, treat that as a signal.

Many companies also publish privacy dashboards or “privacy checkup” tools that are easier to use than the policy. Start there, then consult the policy for details. If you are in a state with a consumer privacy law, look for a section describing your rights and how to submit requests. The California Privacy Protection Agency publishes guides that explain what such sections should contain.

10. What regulators and courts have done

Over the years, enforcement actions have addressed cases where companies collected data without adequate disclosure, shared sensitive data contrary to promises or failed to secure it. Some actions led to settlements and requirements to change practices, such as the 2023 settlement over children’s voice data collected by a smart speaker service. These cases show that policies can be enforced, even if enforcement is slow and uneven. They also show why it is worth reading claims critically and reporting problems to regulators at ftc.gov.

11. Practical trade-offs

You do not have to abandon big platforms to protect privacy. Decide which services bring you the most value, limit the data you give them and use alternatives for sensitive needs. For example, you might keep a mainstream email account for shopping but use an end-to-end encrypted service for private conversations, or keep a social network for family updates but avoid it for political or health discussions. The aim is not purity; it is intentional use. For more detail on specific services, see whether Twitter saves and sells our data and LinkedIn’s data practices.

12. Three scenarios and what to do

Scenario 1: You depend on one ecosystem. Keep it, but reduce retention, limit permissions and use strong authentication.

Scenario 2: You want to leave a platform. Download your data, delete the account and remove linked sign-ins.

Scenario 3: You are worried about government access. Use end-to-end encrypted services for sensitive communication, minimize cloud storage of sensitive material and review transparency reports.

13. Myths and facts

Myth	Fact
Free services are really free	You pay with data and attention
They all do the same thing	Models and practices differ
Opting out stops everything	It limits some uses
Only social media collects data	Retail, devices and apps do too
I can’t do anything	Settings and rights help

14. Common mistakes

Reading nothing and clicking accept.
Leaving old accounts open.
Ignoring data brokers.
Trusting a brand name instead of settings.
Never downloading your data to see what is stored.

15. Questions to ask yourself

Which companies hold my most sensitive information? Do I need them for this purpose? Have I used their privacy tools? What would I be comfortable with them sharing? Make decisions based on the answers.

16. How Wiperts fits

Platform privacy is half the picture. Wiperts handles the other half: public profiles that data brokers and people-search sites publish. It scans more than 100 of them, submits removal requests, removes personal results from Google and Bing, blurs your home on maps and monitors for returning profiles. Start with the free diagnosis.

100% Free Diagnosis: Check Your Exposure

Find out what data brokers have on you. Enter your details in the free scanner on the Wiperts homepage:

First Name
Last Name
Select State
Email Address
Website

Scan Databases Now — no payment is needed to see your exposure report.

17. Key takeaways

Tech companies collect content, device, location, behavior and inferred data, mainly to personalize, advertise and secure services.
Use dashboards, ad settings, permissions and data tools to limit collection.
Platform settings do not affect data brokers or other people’s posts.
Review settings regularly and remove unused accounts.

Pick the Wiperts plan that fits your household

Plan	Covers	One-time deep scrub	Then
Individual	1 person	$89	$14/month
Couples (most popular)	2 people	$149	$24/month
Family	Up to 4 people	$199	$39/month

Every plan includes removal of your name, date of birth, salary, home address and phone number from 100+ data brokers and people-search sites, Google and Bing search-result removal, home blurring on maps, and 24/7 monitoring that re-removes your data if it reappears. See plans and start your removal

18. Frequently Asked Questions

Do tech companies sell my data?

Many state they do not sell raw personal data, but they use it to sell advertising and may share it with partners and service providers. Read each company’s current policy.

What data do big tech companies collect?

Searches, location, purchases, content you create, contacts, device information, communications metadata and inferences about interests.

Why do they collect so much?

To personalize services, sell advertising, develop products, secure accounts and comply with the law.

Can I see my data?

Most major platforms provide tools to download or review account data, and some states provide a legal right to request access.

Can I delete my data?

You can delete many categories and close accounts, though some records are retained for legal or security reasons.

Does opting out stop collection?

It limits some uses such as personalized ads, but data may still be collected for operations and security.

Sources

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