INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
GDPR is right around the corner, so it time to prepare your personal data requests
If you live in the European Union, tech companies have to comply with personal data requests after May 25th
And there a handy website that helps you do just that.
My Data Request lists dozens of tech companies and tells you how you can contact them
The website also links to the privacy policy of each service and tells you what to do even if you don&t live in the EU.
Some companies, such
as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google, Tinder and Snapchat have made that easy as they have created a page on their website to download a
zip archive with all your personal data.
But it worth nothing that your archive doesn&t necessarily include all data about you
For instance, Facebook tracks your web and location history as much as possible
But you won&t find any of that in the archive
The download tool is mostly about getting a copy of your posts, Messenger conversations, photos and more.
For most companies (including
Amazon), you&ll have to email them yourself
My Data Request has created handy email templates
You just have to copy the message, put your name and contact information and send the email
The email addresses are listed on My Data Request site too.
Some companies make it even harder than that
I haven&t checked all guides, but you have to send a letter to Uber to get your data for instance
For HSBC clients, you have to call the company.
It unfortunate that there no about page on My Data Request — it unclear who behind this
Nevertheless, the website privacy policy says that it doesn&t collect any personal data when you interact with the site (but it uses Google
Analytics).
You don&t have to connect with third-party APIs or give access to your personal account to request your data
It just links and text, and an interactive way to learn about data requests.
