Leading data broker Acxiom's free AboutTheData.com service offers a glimpse of the ad-targeting information the company has collected about you. But opting out of targeted ads may not be so simple.
At least one big-name data broker thinks I'm an Asian who owns a cat and a boat and loves to travel. Sounds like someone who leads a much more interesting life than I do.
That's the profile Acxiom revealed when I plugged my name, address, and other information into the data broker's free
AboutTheData.com service. The beta of the service was released last week.
Mine is one of hundreds of millions of profiles Acxiom sells to advertisers and other public and private organizations, which explains all those yachting ads I'm being served up. For the record, our household owns no pets or boats. While we used to take quite a few trips, we travel infrequently these days.
