Consumer Privacy in 2025: The Biggest Online Threats Ahead

The challenge of consumer privacy has long been a key issue in the business world. Ever since data became ‘big data’, and the opportunities that arise through data collection became more widely known, consumers have been in danger of losing their privacy, and despite the issues becoming more widely known over the last few years, these threats aren’t going away anytime soon.

In reality, they are only going to escalate. Going into 2025, there are going to be numerous online threats that have the potential to rob consumers of their privacy, and in some cases, even compromise their safety and financial security.

Awareness, however, is the first step to protecting yourself. If you know what to look out for and have all the necessary defenses in place, you decrease your chances of being a victim tenfold, with the ability to take back control of your data and safeguard your personal information in an increasingly dangerous, digital world. With this in mind, we’ve listed out the three biggest online threats that you need to look out for, with a few words on what makes them so dangerous and how you can protect yourself against them.

Big Data Collected by Big Companies

Ironically, many of the big companies utilizing data privacy as a key marketing tool are the same companies that spawned the problem in the first place. Big tech firms like Facebook and Apple have built their business models around the collection and analysis of vast amounts of personal data, and while they promote privacy features and claim to prioritize consumer protection now, the sheer volume of data they harvest will always leave users vulnerable.

The same can be said for countless other companies, even ones you do not directly implicate yourself with. According to the latest statistics, the average 2024 online time for consumers around the world is six hours, and thirty-five minutes daily.

When a consumer is shopping online, however, they are flicking through several different sites, all of which will initiate tracking of their behaviors. Right now, several companies will likely have your information on file, from your name and gender to your shopping habits and the time you’ve spent on their site. The only way you can counter against this is to actively remove your information from the internet and take your data back into your own hands.

The Data Brokering Industry

Speaking of removing your information from the internet, the best and most effective way to do this is to opt out of data brokers – online entities that track your movements and information as soon as you go online. In a recent study, it was discovered that the data broker market would grow at a CAGR of 7.25% from 2024 to 2030, eventually reaching a valuation of $411.64 billion.

These are businesses that exist to track your data and form a digital profile of your life – including who you are, your address, your phone number, your email, and even your everyday hobbies and preferences. This data is then sold to the next highest bidder, where its safety depends on the orientation of the company – often, this data is given to people search sites, allowing anyone to have access to it – and their own, perhaps non-existent cybersecurity precautions.

The Rising Cybersecurity Threats

The third biggest threat for consumers is the ever-developing world of tech – something that is being leveraged by cybercriminals the world over. Artificial intelligence, for example, is becoming far more sophisticated, enabling the creation of highly realistic deepfakes and even personalized phishing attacks. These attacks can subsequently trick individuals into divulging sensitive information or making fraudulent transactions, resulting in potential identity theft, loss of personal finances, and more.

Due to the fast development of AI-driven tools, hacking is also becoming automated, with AI bots able to learn from past defenses to breach systems far more efficiently and at a larger scale than ever before. Complete with an expanding attack surface – the proliferation of IoT devices creates even more entry points for cybercriminals – and the ongoing shift to cloud computing – where vast amounts of sensitive data are stored in centralized repositories, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals – it has become more important than ever for consumers to be aware of the world they’re living in and take precautions.

Cybersecurity does not have to be difficult. All it takes is being aware of the most pressing issues and doing what you can to encrypt your information, and ensure your personal data is not readily available on the internet.