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The metadata trap

Metadata surveillance explained

Metadata is the basis of mass surveillance systems, the scope of which is being fastly accelerated with Artificial Intelligence (AI). While encryption protects the content of our communications, metadata about everything we do online is being compiled to track our behavior and profile us. Nym tracks the history of metadata surveillance, the agents behind it, how this affects people’s daily lives, and what we can all do to protect our data. Research now shows that metadata may be the most overlooked – and exploited – privacy threat of our time

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What is metadata?

Metadata means information about information. All digital information has metadata: an image file will specify size and location, and a message to a friend will show your IP address and timestamps. Metadata provides context about your data. Importantly, metadata is visible even when content is encrypted. The question is what does metadata reveal about us, and why are so many entities on the web collecting it?

“Metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you have enough metadata, you don’t really need content.”

– NSA’s General Counsel, Stewart Baker

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What does metadata reveal about you?

  • Who you are

  • Where you are

  • Who you talk to

  • What you do online

  • When & how often you do it

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    Who's collecting your metadata?

    Read more from Nym on metadata surveillance

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