The Issue – Thousands of popular websites covertly harvest personal information typed into forms without users’ consent

When you’re filling in a form on a website, it may seem logical that what you’ve filled will only be  processed  once you hit the ‘submit’ button. However, the reality is that many popular websites contain scripts from third-party advertising, analytics and tracking firms which covertly collect the data that users type into online forms – even if this information is never formally submitted or you un-subscribe. This data is then monetised for targeted advertising and can also track users across a range of devices.