I really don't get to worked up over this, but probably because I haven't seen anything nefarious show up yet. Were I getting targetted advertising about something that should have been held in confidence by my doctor I would have a different attitude.

Advertising is the fuel of the internet. Targetted advertising is jet fuel. Do I want to go back to the olden days when a "punch the monkey" banner ad showed up on every site I visit? Hell no. Do I long for the news article where the text disappears as a cartoon ad floats across the website? Absolutely not. How about pop-up ads? Anybody have an itch to close ten windows for every link you click?

The truth is I prefer the more subtle advertising of today over the brute force ads of the early days. Seeing ads for products I'm interested in or some of my hobbies in the sidebar is far preferable to the other junk.

Truth is I do let Google track me on my phone GPS. Why? Because its data I can use. It becomes part of my historical record. When I have relaxed on getting my timesheets filled out and need to reproduce what I did on a certain day, Google timelines tells me when and where I was down to the minute. Its my data and its useful. Could that data be used against me at some point, probably, but if you know how it works you can turn it off when needed or leave the phone at home. Far from being creeped out by it, I've embraced it and use it for my own good.

I benefit immensely from the internet. Do I want to be nickel and dimed for the parts of the internet that make my life more productive? Absolutely not, the data they take from me is a small price to pay for the benefits I get in return. Probably this will not be a popular opinion on this board, but really what can you do besides unplug? Better to stop worrying and acknowledge it is a 2 way street.