Your data on a pornsite

Whether or not people admit to visiting porn sites, it’s a huge business and people that use these sites can leave a trail of personal data. You might be surprised how much these companies know about you. Always remember that your data belongs to you and if you want to get it deleted you have a legal right to make that happen.

What kind of data do porn sites have on users?

Browsing porn sites as an unregistered user still leaves a certain amount of data about you. For example, that could include:

• Contact information if you fill out a survey
• Viewing history
• Interaction with ads
• IP address
• Network info
• Device information
• Location data

Also, cookies can track where you visited, and where you went next, amongst other tracking.

But for people who go further and register, the site can capture a wide range of personal data including:

• Email address
• Date of birth
• Address
• Gender
• Your interests and preferences
• Payment information, including card details
• Interactions on the particular site (such as comments)
• Nationality
• Sexual orientation

What do porn sites do with my data?

Porn sites process your data for a number of purposes, including:

• Provision of their service
• Customisation of content
• Customisation of ads
• Website usage analytics
• Compliance with legal obligations

In addition to all that, it’s worth remembering that porn sites also share information with “service providers” that include payment processing, customer service, analytics, and advertisers that advertise on the site and customise content according to your activity. It’s also worth noting that one porn site is often part of a broader network that can share information with any of its other companies too.

Is my data at risk?

It can be. Data breaches happen all the time and it’s possible that hackers could get hold of your personal information held by a porn site and sell it on the dark web to be used by scammers or even to help steal your identity.

What can I do about my data?

Managing your personal information requires more than just deleting your adult browsing history or deleting your account from a porn site. Like any other company, adult websites have to comply with data protection laws and afford their users certain rights related to their personal information. That includes the ability to find out what they know about you, and what they're doing with that information for free.

It’s worth bearing in mind that some of the kinds of data listed above are only collected if you make an account. Still, it’s always worth knowing what a company knows about you, especially if the information is sensitive.

Remember, you have the right to access and review any and all personal data a company or website holds about you. If a company doesn't have your personal information in their databases, then it can’t be stolen by hackers.

You can find out which companies have your data and instruct it to be deleted. The easiest way to do that is to use Rightly Protect where in just a couple of clicks you can find out who has your data and send a deletion request. It’s quick, simple and free.