Stop that. Put it down. Bad!
Those sound like things you might tell a poorly behaved dog. But they’re what a privacy app from Consumer Reports will say to big business on your behalf — without all the messy paperwork it would take to do it yourself.
Permission Slip, which quietly launched on iOS devices in late 2022, is newly available on Android devices too. Says product manager Sukhi Gulati:
“We designed and developed Permission Slip, an app that makes it easy to take back control of your personal data. The app shows you what kinds of information companies collect and gives you a simple interface to exercise your data privacy rights with a tap. Since first releasing Permission Slip on iOS last year, we’ve served over 13,000 users and delivered over 200,000 data rights requests on behalf of the community.”
Consumer Reports developed the app after several states implemented new privacy protection laws — most of which consumers probably haven’t heard about, and which may be too confusing to hassle with.
Permission Slip does all the legwork, showing you a long list of companies known to collect data from people such as you, including the likes of Amazon, Ticketmaster, Home Depot and CVS. You can take a look at exactly the kind of information each gathers and possibly sells — and with just a tap, demand they stop selling your data or delete your account.
Once they do, you should begin to notice fewer suspiciously specific ads across the internet.
The app maintains a list of your requests along with their current status. And if you enable “auto requests,” it won’t give up if a company blows off the request the first time.
“We’ll keep reaching out to data brokers on your behalf and tell them to stop selling your personal information,” Consumer Reports says.
You’ll still have to keep an eye on your email and voicemail to verify your identity and confirm that, yes, you really do not want them to continue harvesting and selling your data.
You can download Permission Slip for iOS here or for Android devices here. And, by the way, you should know that Money Talks News doesn’t sell your personal information — and that you can opt out of other companies showing you personalized ads on our website here.
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