In the 2003 film Bruce Almighty, actor Jim Carrey assumes the temporary duties as God from actor Morgan Freeman and can then read every person's prayers on his laptop. I do believe that people praying assumed that their prayers were a conversation between only them and God. Not to be shared.
What happens when a person signs up with a prayer app?
The Freakonomics podcast has an explanation, and it is guaranteed to heighten your fears about online / digital privacy.
In 2016, venture-capital firms invested around $6 million in faith-based apps, most of them Christian. In the world of venture capital, $6 million is essentially zero. Four years later, they spent $50 million. Last year? $175 million.
The spike was caused in part by Covid shutdowns, but anyone not a devout believer might be entirely unaware of this giant digital marketplace. On the latest episode of Freakonomics Radio, host Stephen Dubner investigates this booming world of apps with names like Pray, Glorify and Hallow.
One concern he uncovers is that old Silicon Valley maxim: “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” But what are the privacy concerns when people are giving an app their most personal, their most secret hopes and fears? As one guest says, "If the data were available on a market, people could use it to prey on specific people's fears, you know. Misinformation, disinformation campaigns. It could target certain people. Foreign governments could try to purchase this information."
Dubner brings these concerns to the CEO of Pray.com, the world’s number-one app for daily prayer and faith-based audio content. In the last 12 months, Pray.com has facilitated over 122 million prayers. Why do his company's terms allow it to share data with third parties like Facebook? And how do apps like his impact the well-documented social benefits of religion you only get from meeting fellow believers
Listen to "When You Pray to God Online, Who Else Is Listening?" at freakonomics.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
It used to be that when you prayed, your prayers went up into the clouds, where God was believed to be enjoying the heavenly life. Now, your prayers go "into the cloud," and it could be to the server of a large company that shares your innermost thoughts with other companies who can't wait to sell you stuff or feed you disinformation. Note: If you receive an answer to your prayers, and the response is in a Russian accent, BEWARE!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank You for your input and feedback. If you requested a response, we will do so as soon as possible.