The biggest entertainment websites and apps like Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok have gained global popularity due to their vast libraries of content. There’s just something for everyone. Yet, behind their massive success, there are technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning that track and analyze user behavior to provide intuitive content suggestions.
In what follows, we break down the type of data collected by entertainment websites as well as the benefits and potential risks of this practice.
Contents
What data do websites collect?
Nowadays, most websites in any sector collect a great variety of data. This includes data that users knowingly provide, for example, full name, email address, phone number, and banking information. However, unbeknownst to many people, activity tracking goes beyond as companies and brands might also collect the following information:
- IP address, which reveals a person’s city, region, and country.
- The kind of device and browser used to access the site.
- What users click on and how long they spent on a certain page.
- Browsing activity across several sites, provides insight into a person’s interests, hobbies, shopping habits, and more.
Take entertainment sites in the iGaming sectors. With the rise of technology, these platforms have evolved to provide greater online casino security and privacy. Therefore, a user might need to provide their full name and date of birth in order to access the services.
Why do websites track user activities and what are the benefits?
Entertainment websites track their visitors to provide a more personalized user experience. The streaming giant Netflix, for example, tracks a person’s viewing history and how they rate a certain TV show or movie to make content recommendations that are similar to what they constantly watch. This is a win-win solution for both the company and the consumer, as the latter gets to discover new content akin to their interests and might, consequently, renew or prolong their service subscription.
In addition, tracking user behavior also allows websites to identify the marketing campaigns that are generating the most traffic. Tools like Google Analytics have become helpful to digital marketers as they are able to track the sites that are performing successfully by taking into consideration several factors such as page views, session duration, and bounce rates among others.
What are the potential risks of user tracking?
Although user tracking can be useful for companies and consumers in many ways, it doesn’t come without its downsides. One of the primary concerns drawn by this kind of technology is the vast amount of personal information that is collected, processed, and stored. For the privacy conscious, having their full name, location, and purchasing habits shared with third parties can feel invasive.
There’s also the risk of falling victim to a data breach. In 2022, more than 422 million people were affected by data breaches, leakage, and exposure. The personal information of millions of users across popular platforms such as Twitter, Neopets, and CashApp was accessed by hackers, which reveals the risks of providing websites with sensitive details.
Finally, user tracking allows companies and brands to deliver targeted advertising that is relevant to their users. While this might be advantageous for some, it can lead to bad spending habits in others.
To conclude
Entertainment websites track user activity and collect a variety of data that helps to advance their marketing efforts and provide consumers with a more personalized experience. While this can be beneficial for both parties, there are certain risks that cannot be overlooked.
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