Hello Everyone! This will be the final post of Crystal Clear. It has been a pleasure writing for all five of you (Shout out to Professor Hoffman, you the realest)! Here, we will wrap up our arguments and share our closing thoughts, so close your other tabs because its about to get real!
–Terms and Conditions. Read them you dummy! Companies outline what data they are collecting and how they plan on using it. Now this isn’t to say that they should be trusted, but they will certainly give you more information before just clicking that box. The sad truth 
is that many companies make their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy documents unnecessarily lengthy and worded in a special litigative way that allow them to do things you don’t think they could. Despite the daunting challenge this may pose, think carefully before you click without reading them. You probably wouldn’t be willing to exchange your address, name, contact information, and internet browsing history to a total stranger in exchange for the ability to play some silly game on your iPhone, right? Keep that in mind the next time you want to sign up for that weird site you’ll never visit again, or download that trendy free game everyone seems to have but will be done with next week. #thinkbeforeyouclick
–Data Brokers, unfortunately, are a real thing. These companies collect, organize, repackage and then distribute personal information and data. They are the bane of my existence and could, some day, be the bane of yours as well. Some of the data they aggregate is your banking history, what you buy or even think about buying all compiled up into this nifty thing called a shadow credit score that could one day swing around and screw you 
over when trying to get a loan. Or, better yet, your teen years in which you googled some not so savory subjects are recorded and a part of your background information when your future dream job goes to check you out. You could be a good kid, great grades, nice work experience, but the curious phase you went through? If you’ve googled some weird stuff in college, you might not be hired. Scary, huh? Don’t forget there’s options like Tor and various VPNs that anonymize your browsing experience. Your connection might be slowed but privacy is priceless.
–Cookies, they’re delicious and malicious, a perfectly balanced snack. When you log on to a website, your browser downloads and stores cookies. They are small pieces of data that help websites recognize your computer. When used properly, they actually are extremely useful. When you tell a website to remember your username and/or password, that info is stored in a 
cookie. Quick and convenient. Originally most cookies acted like this, adding functionality to the web browsing experience. However, as time passed and the internet matured, cookies took on a new role. Today, they play a large part in the tracking of users. Sites like CNN for example inject multiple cookies into your computer, theirs and those of advertisers and other third parties. Quickly, your metaphorical cookie jar becomes a collection of your browsing history. Both the websites you’ve navigated to and the ads you’ve clicked conveniently stored away. Sneakily, some cookies take advantage of this collection and send all of this information back to their masters. Boom! Your online experience is in the hands of online advertisers and the like, while your left with only crumbs.
Long story short, read the TOS of every site you use, account or not, and always #thinkbeforeyouclick! We hope you’ve enjoyed your time with us, because we sure have.
Crystal Clear 