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"The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday criticized Apple, Google and other tech firms for failing to be upfront with parents about how the companies are collecting personal data through mobile apps aimed at young children."

"Companies are using free smartphone apps as 'fronts' to allow them to spy on users' text messages, intercept calls and even track their location, it was claimed yesterday. By accepting little-read terms and conditions when downloading apps, consumers give developers the right to harvest vast swathes of private information. Facebook insists that people using its Android smartphone app agree to give them permission to read their text messages, although the internet giant said it had not yet taken advantage of this right."

"Upon reading recent news stories about how Facebook tracks almost everywhere he goes on the Internet, Jim Kress grew outraged. Consumers are increasingly taking online privacy into their own hands. The consultant from Northville, Mich., subsequently learned Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Adobe and many other companies also exhaustively track his online activities. "I was very unnerved to discover the extent of all the other tracking that was done by nearly every site on the Web," he says."

"Everyone should know that many aspects of your online behavior are visible to others. This data is essential for all businesses with a presence on the Web; it enables them to determine how, where, and when to attract your attention, thus leading to smarter, targeted, and increasingly personalized Internet marketing. As more and more commercial entities turn to the Internet for customers, those potential customers unwittingly share personal information with a vast array of online parties through HTTP cookies. In this article, you will learn the function of third-party cookies, ad tracking, and how to block internet ad tracking."