Why should I be wary of my browsing data being sent to China? (lemm.ee)

submitted 3 months ago by cybercitizen4@lemm.ee to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Hi all,

I don’t really know how to ask this question. On one of my devices, I downloaded a web browser (Opera) and one of my friends made fun of me, saying that “you better like China knowing all the stuff you do online”.

I read the Opera website and it says it’s a Norwegian company, but on Wikipedia it does say it was bought by a Chinese company.

My question is: what does “China” do with my personal browsing data? Why is it useful for them? (and who are we referring to here, is that the Chinese government, a private company, who?)

I’m looking forward to learn more about digital privacy, but I don’t currently understand the “obviousness” of how it is wrong to use Opera.

I’m a tech enthusiast (hence why I’m here), but I’m cognizant that I have large knowledge gaps in some of these topics.

Thank you in advance.

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[-] Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee 14 points 3 months ago

Good question. One reaaon is that wherever it goes you can't ensure that's where it stays.

[-] primrosepathspeedrun@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

also, generally, you want your data going as few places as possible. not to beijing, not to washington, not to palo alto.

this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2024

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