Lesson 1: Your Data Is Valuable

About 30 minutes — Discussion-based lesson

What You Will Learn

This lesson covers:

What personal data is: name, location, browsing history, preferences, photos
Why companies want your data: advertising, product improvement, selling to others
The phrase 'if the product is free, you are the product'
How much personal data you generate every day without realizing it

What personal data is: name, location, browsing history, preferences, photos

This section covers the key ideas about what personal data is: name, location, browsing history, preferences, photos. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

Why companies want your data: advertising, product improvement, selling to others

This section covers the key ideas about why companies want your data: advertising, product improvement, selling to others. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

The phrase 'if the product is free, you are the product'

This section covers the key ideas about the phrase 'if the product is free, you are the product'. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

How much personal data you generate every day without realizing it

This section covers the key ideas about how much personal data you generate every day without realizing it. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

Check Your Understanding

1. What counts as personal data?

Answer: Name, age, location, photos, messages, search history, purchase history, health data, contacts, and even how long you look at a post. Almost everything digital generates data.

2. Why is personal data valuable?

Answer: Because it helps companies target ads, improve products, predict behavior, and make money. Your data is literally bought and sold by data brokers.

3. What does 'if it is free, you are the product' mean?

Answer: When an app or service is free, they often make money by collecting and selling your data. You are not the customer — you are the product being sold to advertisers.

4. How much data do you generate daily?

Answer: An enormous amount. Every search, click, location check-in, message, and app usage creates data. The average person generates gigabytes of data every day.

Key Takeaways

What personal data is: name, location, browsing history, preferences, photos
Why companies want your data: advertising, product improvement, selling to others
The phrase 'if the product is free, you are the product'
How much personal data you generate every day without realizing it

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Continue to Lesson 2: What Is Informed Consent?

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