Your Phone Knows More About You Than Your Doctor Does

Every day, your smartphone generates thousands of data points about your life: where you go, what you buy, who you talk to, how you sleep, what you search for at 2am. Most of this data is collected without your meaningful consent — and sold to the highest bidder.

The data broker industry is worth more than $200 billion annually. Companies buy and sell personal data with virtually no regulation. They know your medical conditions, your financial struggles, your political beliefs, and your most intimate relationships.

The average American's data is sold to more than 4,000 companies every year, says privacy researcher Dr. Shoshana Zuboff. And most people have no idea it is happening.

The consequences are real. Insurance companies use data broker profiles to set premiums. Employers use them to screen job candidates. Landlords use them to evaluate tenants. And law enforcement agencies use them to build cases — often without a warrant.

But a growing movement of privacy advocates, legislators, and technologists is pushing back. New laws in California and Virginia have given consumers some rights over their data.