Showing posts with label free money on the internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free money on the internet. Show all posts

Thursday 4 August 2022

" SURF Review" - People in the US and Canada are earning money by just browsing the internet.

 SURF - REVIEW

People in the US and Canada are earning money by just browsing the internet.



The details of what each of us sees online is an incredibly valuable resource.


This tracked data helps companies like Google and Facebook generate billions of dollars in advertising revenue each year by using the information to target ads to us.

For example, if you're shopping for a new pair of jeans from online fashion retailers, you should soon see advertisements for jeans elsewhere on your computer screen. We've all seen this happen in relation to anything we've wanted to buy.



The extent to which we are being followed online in this way is somewhat puzzling. According to a recent study, the average European shares data about their internet usage 376 times a day. For US internet users, that number almost doubles to 747,,. But what if you not only had more control over how much of your data was shared, but could also make money from it?


That's the promise of a Canadian tech company called Surf, which released a browser extension of the same name last year. Reward people who surf the web.


It's still in beta or restricted release stages in the US and Canada, and works by bypassing Google like Google does, and selling your data directly to retail brands instead. In return, Surf gives you points that you can save and then redeem for discounts and gift cards.


Companies registered to date include Foot Locker, The Body Shop, Crocs and Dyson.


Surf advises that all data is anonymous: your e-mail addresses and telephone numbers will not be shared, and you do not have to give your name when registering. However, it asks for your age, gender and approximate address, but these are not required. The idea is that brands can use the data provided by Surf to see, for example, which websites are most popular with males aged 18 to 24 in Los Angeles. You can then target your ads accordingly.

Surf hasn't released details on how much people can earn, but says it has enabled users to earn more than $1.2 million (£960,000) combined so far.

Users can also use Browse to limit the data they share, e.g. B. Blocking information about certain websites you visit. One Surf user is Amina Al-Noor, a student at York University in Toronto, Canada, who says she feels the extension gives her back "control" of her online data.


Swish Goswami, Surf's co-founder and CEO, says the company aims to be "the reward for frequent flyers when surfing the web."
He adds: "From day one, we've made it clear to users what we do and don't do, and we also give them the ability to control their data.


"I think if you're honest with people and asking them, knowing you're sharing data with brands, and you're doing it anonymously, which means they can't access it because we don't have their first or last name, then people feel more comfortable to say it "yes" and let us know more.

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Surf is part of a growing movement that some commentators have dubbed "responsible technology," aimed in part at giving people more control over their data.


Another tech company in this space is Canadian company Waverley, which allows people to compile their own news sources instead of relying on the advertising-based algorithms and trackers of Google News and Apple News.

Fill in topics that interest you with Waverley and its AI software finds articles you think you enjoy reading. The Montreal-based company is the brainchild of founder Philippe Baudouin, who was previously an engineer at Google.

App users can regularly change their preferences and provide feedback on which items are recommended to them.



Mr Baudouin says that users have to make an effort as they have to tell the app things that interest them, but in return they are freed from the 'advertising trap'.


"Responsible technology should empower users, but not be ashamed to ask them to work on their behalf," he says.

"[In turn] our AI reads and indexes thousands of articles [for users] every day."

Abide, Rob Shavell's US company, creates two applications that allow users to increase their privacy: Blur and Delete Me. The former ensures that your passwords and payment details cannot be traced, while the latter removes your personal information from search engines.

Mr. Shavell says he believes web browsing should go hand in hand with “privacy by design”.

Carissa Velez, associate professor at the Institute of Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford, says that technology companies "should be incentivized to develop business models that do not rely on the use of personal data".

"It is worrying that most of the algorithms that govern our lives are produced by private companies without oversight or guidance to ensure that these algorithms support our public goods and values," it adds.


"I don't think transparency is a panacea or even half the solution, but legislators in particular should have access to algorithms."

Google highlights its new "Privacy Sandbox" initiative, which "aims to introduce new, more private advertising solutions."

A Google spokesperson says: "That's why we're working with regulators and the web community to develop technologies through the privacy sandbox that protect people's privacy online while helping to keep content and services safer." '


'Later year, we will launch My Ad Center, which will expand our privacy controls to give people more direct control over the information used to show them ads.





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