[mlthoughts2018]

“I hand over my data in exchange for the app handing over a valuable experience or service” is the hugest lie in the business. This is exactly what the disingenuous marketing doublespeak of Yelp and Foursquare says.

In reality, most users really do not understand or consent to the level of data tracking and are very confused about terms of use or privacy settings in the app or just on their device.

The big problem is that it is just not possible for the vast majority of people to have enough expertise or technical know-how to give anything resembling informed consent. Whatever the user is agreeing to, it emphatically is not anything like consent.