Health searches on the internet can provide sufficient information but a new study shows that searches for specific health-related topics are tracked by third-party entities.
Online searches for health topics related to a medical condition may be helpful but come with some side effects. The information searched online for subjects like herpes, cancer or depression may be leaked to third-party tracking sites, according to a new research by Professor Marco Huesch from the University of Southern California. This could not only result in "embarrassment" but also "discrimination in the labor market," Huesch told the Associated Press.
The results of the study are based on reviewing 20 sites by using freeware privacy tools, DoNotTrackMe, Ghostery and commercial interception software, Charles ,to highlight any data exchange. Huesch noted during his analysis that every site had at least one third-party element with an average being six or seven, according to a press release.
Thirteen out of 20 sample sites used in the study had one or more tracking element but found no third-party tracking on physician-oriented or government sites. Five of those 13 sites had social media plug-ins such as Facebook "Like" button that "allow tracking on websites even if the online user is not logged into social media." Seven out of thirteen websites leaked search terms to third-party entities, according to the study results.
Scientists tracked high-traffic websites often used as a reference for any health-related searches including National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, WebMD and Weight Watchers.
Huesch explained that accumulation of the tracked information from various sites can help build a profile about the person's medical condition. "In theory, someone could build up a very powerful document with all of your medical conditions, the drugs you're taking, where you work, who your relatives are, where you live, and other personal information," he told The Verge.
Huesch also warned that the risk of exposure of personal information may lead to a decline in researching health-related information online. But until regulations on gathering information without user's consent are addressed by the law, users can use free privacy tools for online browsing that block third party entities from collecting any information.
The findings of the study are published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
