Opt-In Vs Opt-Out: A Helpful Guide

We’ve all heard the terms ‘opt-in’ and ‘opt-out’. But what do they really mean, in practice? 

Read on for a concise and illuminating guide about what each term means and the differences between them. 

Opting in

These days, robust data privacy laws require companies and organizations to seek the permission of individuals regarding the use of their personal information. That’s how the opt-in policy came to be developed. Using this process, businesses can ask for the consent of their consumers to send them marketing-related information. A common example of this is the use of cookies. 

Every time you open a new website, you will be asked to accept or reject cookies. The option you choose will determine whether your personal data can be used by that site or not. 

Opting Out

Opting out is the process of manually unsubscribing from a company’s marketing campaigns. 

This can be done either when you first make a purchase, or subsequently if you decide you are no longer interested in their products or services and you wish to change your preference. These two options are called pre-emptive opting out and consent withdrawal respectively. 

Unfortunately, there are a number of techniques some more unscrupulous companies can use to make it more difficult for you to opt-out. These include the use of dark patterns, to obscure the opt-out button, making it hard for users to see it. Some companies may also fail to provide detailed information about what they may do with your data if you do consent them to let them use it. 

Fortunately, dubious practices such as these are prohibited by policies such as GDPR, but you should still be on your guard. 

What if your data is already being used without permission? 

It’s highly possible that your sensitive information has been collected and analyzed by data brokers without your explicit consent. These entities then trade your data to individuals or companies working in the fields of marketing, risk mitigation, people searching, and many others. 

To regain control over your data, you can go through the process of contacting each data broker and filling out their opting-out forms. This is, however, a time-consuming process that typically takes months to be effective. A faster alternative is turning to automated data removal services such as Incogni, which not only offers several data brokers opt-out guides but also takes care of the opting-out process on your behalf. 

The good news

While keeping your data safe and private can sometimes seem like a tall order these days, the growing legislative focus on safeguarding individuals’ privacy is a positive development. Regulations such as GDPR provide you with more rights concerning your ability to control who can use your information and means that any company found to be breaching your data privacy – even in a minor way – can be punished with fines and perhaps even legal intervention. 

Before such robust privacy laws came into effect, it was easy for even high-profile companies such as Facebook to ignore users’ requests for their data. However, the laws are now firmly in your favor, so long as you take care to opt out as much as possible and only give consent when you really feel it’s necessary.

(Disclaimer: Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)