Consumer Reports latest survey reveals that 71% of respondents had concerns about companies collecting and distributing information about them without their permission. 56% were also concerned about the data that companies retain even when the data is no longer useful. Over half of respondents said that they are worried about advertisers targeting kids with the data collected from younger Web users surfing sessions; while others worried that their activities would affect their ability to get jobs or loans.

When it came to questions about privacy policies, 42 percent said that they believe companies' privacy policies are too long and complicated. They may be right. The Federal Trade Commission has found that the average privacy policy is 2,400 words long!

2,400 words translate into the equivalent of 5 typed pages double-spaced. What kid is going to read that, or what adult - not many, probably only those who are the most privacy conscious? But, once we - kids or adults - agree to a privacy policy, whether we take the time to read it or not, we are stuck by abiding by it. Age is no excuse.

While a privacy policy is no guarantee of privacy, it does tell what data a company collects and details how the company is going to use it. The trick is how to read through one so we know what rights we are signing away. Reading through a privacy policy together is also a great way to teach kids about data collection, retention, and distribution.

Where to Start

First you need to find the privacy policy on a website. Most privacy policies have a link you can click on at the bottom of the web page. You need to remind your kids that if a website asks for their information without asking them to agree to a privacy policy, this should set off alarms! There is no way they should give any site their information without agreeing to some kind of privacy policy. Even mobile apps have privacy policies. Mobile apps downloaded from iTunes have to abide by Apple's privacy policy. Android apps are a little trickier. They should have one of their own. When it comes to mobile apps for kids, be very careful about what location information is being given away and what your responsibility as a parent is for in-app purchases.

What They Collect

Every website collects information about its users. All websites collect an Internet Protocol or IP address because without it the website and the computer viewing the website cannot communicate. Beyond that, different websites collect different kinds of information, but EVERYTHING they collect should be enumerated in their privacy policy. The standard kinds of information that may be collected include your name, address, email, and phone number.

Discuss with your kids that the information asked for should correlate with what the website does. Amazon asks for lots of information, on the pretense that it will help them find goods that you may want to look at, but all they really need is your name, address and credit card if you decide to make a purchase. Paper Toss, a free app that lets users practice throwing a virtual paper wad into a virtual garbage can, actually collects location information. While ostensibly, there is no reason for that, Paper Toss actually transmits that information to several ad agencies which helps pay for the cost of being a free app. Kids need to develop some "radar" for apps and websites that seem to ask for too much data. It is a good lesson in becoming media conscious and digitally savvy.

Cookie Crumbs and Other Digital Trails

So how do websites get all this information about you? Some of it you give to them by filling out a profile or answering a questionnaire. But, there are ways that companies and their websites can automatically collect information as well.

Cookies are pieces of code that allow websites to identify individual computers. Cookies are the magic behind not having to log into sites you visit all the time over and over again. They are the digital ingredient that allows a website to figure out it is you visiting a site, yet again, or add a tempting ad about items you looked at recently on an unrelated site. That's because marketing companies also place cookies on your computer to collect information.

Some people try to limit their exposure by turning cookies off in their browser preferences menu, but that can be a problem because then some sites won't display information you are looking for. My son's college, for example, requires that cookies are activated in your browser if you want to see your grades or course materials online.

Where cookies become most problematic is when tracking data is combined with databases containing personal information. In plain English, that means when your Facebook or other social media information is combined with a marketer's tracking data, then they have quite a dossier on you including most of your web surfing history. In a company's privacy policy they should tell you very plainly that this kind of combo plan is in motion. They may use language like "we may also link information stored on your computer in cookies with personal data about specific individuals stored on our servers."

As stated before, it would be great if kids could turn cookies off completely and limit their exposure to ad networks, but many websites or apps won't run without them. If you want to investigate how to opt out of ad networks further, take a look at "Opt Out of Behavioral Advertising" on the National Advertising Initiative site for more information.

Sharing

Most privacy policies spend a lot of digital ink explaining how they are going to share information with other entities including affiliates and "trusted" third parties. Unfortunately, neither you nor your kids have many options for not taking part in this sharing, other than not being able to use the site or the app. As part of their digital "radar" for such things, remind kids to identify what personal information is going to be shared with other parties. Fortunately, most often data is shared in an aggregated way so that all personally identifiable features have been removed. For example, this would mean an app would sell another company data such as "all 18 to 24 year old men living in the 77024 zip code who like playing word games." Selling this information is how all those free apps and websites make their money to keep their doors open. 

Complying with COPPA

Compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA is especially important to look for in sites that allow users under the age of 13. The Federal Trade Commission enforces COPPA and has a list of requirements for how companies must protect children's personal information. The policy should address how they adhere to the rules and regulations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.