Who’s Selling You Online: The Lords of Data Trafficking
Acxiom, Experian and Oracle — the Holy Trinity of data harvesting
Ever heard of Acxiom? No? Perfect — that’s exactly what they want. Acxiom is one of the biggest data-brokerage companies on the planet. It holds detailed profiles on more than 2.5 billion people worldwide. Yes, more than the world’s connected population. How does it pull that off? By linking databases from social media, purchases, subscriptions and public records. It knows where you live, who you live with, how much you earn, whether you have a dog, whether you voted in the last election, or whether you’ve been shopping for anti-inflammatories for your back pain.
Then there’s Experian, which most people know for “credit history.” But that’s just the friendly face. Experian sells consumer data segmented by interests as specific as “elderly people who live alone and have pets” or “young parents prone to getting into debt.” Sounds like a joke, but it isn’t. These are real labels. And they sell them to companies, political parties, insurers, and anyone with cash and an API.
And of course, Oracle couldn’t be missing. Yes, that Oracle. It has a division called Oracle Data Cloud, which collects information from more than 5 billion mobile devices. Thought you were anonymous because you cleared your cookies? Cute. They use browser fingerprints, app IDs and geolocation to follow you right into the bathroom if they have to.
The real case that’ll make your jaw drop
In 2023, an investigation by The Markup revealed that a company called SafeGraph was selling location data on people who had visited reproductive-health clinics in the US after the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. For 160 bucks, you got detailed information on women’s movements inside abortion clinics.
That’s literally privatized health surveillance. And it was legal.
After the scandal, Google banned SafeGraph from its app store. And what did the company do? Changed its name and kept selling data from another shop front. Because this isn’t about justice. It’s about who has access to the data, and who can afford to pay for it.
Another example you won’t see on Netflix: X-Mode
X-Mode Social sold location data collected from apps like flashlight apps, prayer apps, or music players. In 2021, a Wall Street Journal report revealed that data ended up in the hands of the US Department of Defense. What for? To track people in sensitive areas. We don’t know whether they were ordinary citizens or suspects of something. It doesn’t matter either way. The point is: you grant location access to use a flashlight app… and end up on file with the Pentagon.
And what about Spain?
We’re not spared. Even though GDPR is stricter, plenty is cooking here too. Companies like Equifax Iberia or Cofidis handle and buy profiles to assess risk, segment campaigns and make automated decisions. Ever applied for a loan and gotten turned down for no clear reason? Maybe they didn’t like your “emotional score.” Yes, that’s a real thing. It’s called psychometric assessment based on your digital behavior.
And what about dating sites? Banking apps? Trackers on digital newspapers? They all feed from the same trough.
Your Life, For Sale
Look, the important thing here isn’t that they know your name or your shoe size. The real problem is that they’re selling a version of you that not even you know — a digital identity built out of guesses, algorithms and labels that other people will use to decide your future.
Data brokers are like white-glove pickpockets. They don’t attack you, they don’t watch you through cameras, they don’t hack you. They simply buy what you already gave away without knowing it, package it, cross-reference it with other databases… and boom — they sell it to whoever wants to influence, discriminate against, or control you.
The solution? It isn’t purely technological. It’s political, legal and cultural. But in the meantime, if an app asks for your email just to show you the weather forecast, maybe it’s easier to just look out the window.