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A free public education resource · No cookies collected here
The most annoying thing on the internet. The reason why is fuzzy on purpose.
In 2018, Europe passed a law called GDPR. It said companies must tell you what they're collecting and get your permission. So companies built the cheapest possible compliance tool — that banner. Not to inform you. To get you to click so they're legally covered.
The banner isn't protecting you. It's protecting them.
The "Accept All" button is bigger, brighter, and requires fewer clicks than "Reject." That's not a design accident. Studies confirm these banners are deliberately engineered to nudge you toward yes.
And even when you click Reject — many sites load the trackers anyway. California fined one company $1.35 million in 2025 specifically because their opt-out button didn't actually work.
All companies that collect tracking cookies are required by law to ask. They are not required to make it easy to say no. And sometimes they ignore your answer anyway, making it annoying on purpose is so you'll give up and click Accept!
Hover each one. Click to go deeper. All free, all real.
What Google really has on you
81 products. Every search, every map route, every YouTube video, every Gmail. It takes days to assemble because there's that much. Request yours and see.
What Google Knows
The fine print that changed while you slept
Harvard's Transparency Hub archives 20,000+ policy documents from 300+ companies. Most platforms quietly removed your right to sue them in court. You agreed. You didn't know.
What You Agreed To
Companies selling you to strangers
Thousands of data brokers have never met you but know your income, health conditions, location, and political views. They sell you for as little as $0.12 per record.
Who's Selling You
33 brokers. 4 foreign governments.
In 2025, 33 registered brokers admitted to selling American data to North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran. 32 of 33 collected your device ID. 5 collected precise geolocation.
Where It Goes
Children are the most tracked people online
Everything collected during childhood gets stored. It doesn't graduate with them — it follows them into job applications, insurance, and adult relationships. Parents click "accept" on their behalf every single day.
What Your Kids Are Losing
Opting out doesn't mean what you think
Turning off personalized ads stops you seeing the evidence — it doesn't delete the profile. The data still exists. The brokers still have it. Global Privacy Control is a real signal. Legally enforceable in CA.
What "Opt Out" Really Means
Real actions. Free. Starting right now.
California's DROP platform launched January 1, 2026. One request removes you from every registered broker — free. Not in CA? Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has opt-out contacts for 750+ brokers nationwide.
What You Can Do Today
The people who've been fighting this for decades
EPIC has been at this since 1994 — filing FTC complaints, publishing research, winning cases. Harvard's ASML just launched Transparency Hub and is building Keyring, an identity wallet on your terms.
Who's Fighting For You
Both are Google's own pages. Both are free. Both will surprise you. We never touch your data.
Takeout = your full archive across 81 products · My Activity = your live log, instant, no export needed
Three honest zones. Do what you can today.
Come back when you're ready for more.
Five things you now understand that most people don't. Each one links back to the full explanation above.
Why that cookie popup exists
It's not protecting you. It's protecting them. The friction is intentional.
What Google has on you
81 products. Years of data. A file so large it takes days to assemble.
Who's selling you for $0.12
Companies you've never heard of. Data you never agreed to share.
Who's Tracking Your Kids
Their childhood is being archived. It follows them into adulthood.
We found these for you. Real things that make a real dent — free, today, no account needed.
One browser setting. Legally signals "don't sell my data" to every site you visit.
California residents: use DROP
One free request removes you from every registered data broker in California.
Look up your platform's fine print
Harvard archived 20,000+ policy documents. See what yours actually says — and how it changed.
Download your social media data
X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn — step-by-step instructions for every platform in one place.
A personal monsterthat likes to eat cookies!
FUTURE TOOLS:
You'll be first to know when we launch the tools to protect and eventually profit from your own data — on your terms.
Step-by-step: garble your footprint
A guided walkthrough to scramble your existing data so it can't be reassembled. Works today, with free tools.
Anonymize or encrypt your Takeout
When your file arrives, we show you exactly which tools to use and how. Free tools, guided by us.
A curated privacy toolkit
The best free tools, tested and explained. Browser extensions, VPNs, encrypted email — what actually works.
Making the internet safer, more transparent & giving you more ways to get involved in your own privacy.
From the U.S. Department of Commerce
"Operations Security (OPSEC) is an analytic process used to deny adversaries access to information, typically unclassified or Controlled Unclassified Information, regarding our intentions and capabilities. This is achieved by identifying, controlling, and protecting indicators associated with our planning processes or operations. OPSEC does not replace other security disciplines; rather, it supplements them. Practicing OPSEC is essential for ensuring the safety of our employees and the smooth execution of Department operations."
People are talking about OPSEC on Reddit. Join the conversation →
EPIC
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Fighting for your data rights since 1994. Their research on the 33 foreign-actor brokers and Google's RTB system is the backbone of this site.
epic.org →Harvard ASML
Applied Social Media Lab · Berkman Klein Center
Transparency Hub tracks 300+ platform policies in real time. Keyring gives you a portable verified identity wallet — on your terms, not theirs.
asml.cyber.harvard.edu →Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Consumer Advocacy · Data Broker Registry
750+ broker database with opt-out contacts. Co-sponsors of California's DELETE Act. The people who made DROP happen.
privacyrights.org →And when you're ready to play
For a kaleidoscope of coolThanks for visiting — see you soon!