Selling Off Privacy at Auction (paper + browser extension)

MrBrian · Jun 28, 2014

From https://www.inrialpes.fr/planete/people/lukasz/rtbdesc.html:

While browsing the Web, you are being evaluated in real time by complex analysis systems. The advertisers decide on your value and then bid for your private data accordingly and display advertisements on the sites you visit. In this work we show how this is possible and who is doing it. We also show how much are we worth in eyes of advertisers. Even if you think that your browsing history is priceless or worth $10,000, this is not the case.

[...]

It is first important to introduce two concepts: Cookie Matching and Real-Time Bidding.

[...]

Key points are highlighted below.

Cookie Matching is prevalent on the Web. We detected at least 120 partners in the case of Doubleclick.

Real-Time Bidding is already a very popular medium of serving ads, users are routinely experiencing advertisements served by this channel.

RTB is a hub of private data dissemination to 3rd-parties.

RTB is by design a non-transparent technology. All interactions between RTBs and bidders are on the server side. This means it is not detectable by privacy enhancing tools such as Lightbeam.

Web browsing history is leaking via the Ad Exchange auction mechanism.

We make list of detected unique hostnames and Google network id's attributed to Doubleclick's partners available here. One interesting entry is VisualDNA, a Big Data company specializing in psychometrics.

It is possible to detect bidders by detection of price notifications.

Price notification is a leaking channel. We were able to prepare a detailed study of the value of private data based on prices issued on a real-time basis.

$0.0005 is a reasonable estimation of the price of disclosure of the user visiting a Web site. This figure, however, can be shared among a number of undisclosed bidders taking part in an RTB auctions.

A more detailed analysis revealed that price is determined by: user's past visited Web sites, currently visited Web site and its content, time of day and location.

Prices in USA are significantly higher than in Europe (on an example of France).
Click to expand...

How much are you worth?

mirimir · Jun 28, 2014

It doesn't work if you use AdBlock Plus

RollingThunder · Jul 15, 2014

I wouldn't be worth a plug nickle.

Reality · Jul 15, 2014

Since Im allergic to ALL unsolicited advertisements, they'd have a frustrating experience with me.

noone_particular · Jul 15, 2014

From the test site linked on that page

Results: We do not have any data associated with you.
Click to expand...

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Selling Off Privacy at Auction (paper + browser extension)

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