What Happens When Apple Runs Out of Money?

Or Google or Facebook or Amazon?

All these companies collect a massive amount of information on it’s users. Everything from our buying habits, to our friends, our search history, our communications, even out health data, and location.

Up until this point, these companies have been pretty good about keeping this information secure and private. But most of that is just a promise of “we will never sell your data.” Is there anything actually keeping them from doing that?

Right now it is more profitable for the companies to keep your data internally. The information they collect allows them to build bigger and better services, and sell you more things that you want. Basically, the companies will make more money keeping your information than selling it.

But what happens what one of these companies are on the down slope? (Think Yahoo or MySpace). All of the data that is collection about you suddenly becomes an asset. A lucrative asset that can be sold to keep the company afloat, or make it attractive as a take over. Then who owns your data?

This isn’t something that will happen over night, but it’s something to consider with how much data we are now trusting to these companies. Will these companies be around forever? Is there any actual guarantee or your privacy or just some marketing promise?

Want to discuss? Message me on Twitter (@swoicik) or join the GitHub Discussions.

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