(PCM) Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has made a startling claim about internet privacy and those that frequent his site in particular claiming that Reddit knows everything about you and “your dark secrets”. Right, like that doesn’t sound at all ominous!
Sometimes looked at as the underbelly of the internet, Reddit boasts millions of page views per day, as individuals find ways to cure their afternoon boredom by diving deep into Reddit’s treasure trove of articles, opinions and unfiltered content. Huffman claims that Reddit knows all about your dark secrets and their ultimate plan is to use that knowledge to target specific ads in your direction.
Huffman says, “Our targeting will be different because, um, we know, we know all of your interests. You know? Not just your, you know, the interests you’re willing to declare publicly on Facebook, but you know, we know your dark secrets. we know everything.”
::Insert evil horror movie laughter here::
Almost immediately Reddit users chimed in joking that they do not feel the target advertising scheme is working considering one Reddit users claims they were shown an ad for quilting for nearly two months and another claims for knowing their “deep dark secrets”, why have they only been shown ads for Old Spice deodorant?
Obviously the privacy issue is not too big of a concern, however it is certainly a little creepy to know that a company does have the power to know just about everything we are doing online.