You’re on a web site when you see an ad to RealAge that will tell you what your real age is. It asks about 150 questions about your lifestyle and family history to discover your “biological age.” I’ve done it, so don’t be afraid to fess up. You think no biggie. You wouldn’t think that if you knew that RealAge is giving your answers to pharmaceutical companies. Today, the New York Times has reported that RealAge is giving respondees’ answers to drug companies without their permission or knowledge. It makes you think about what else you have answered on the internet that is being used to target you.

The problem isn’t that RealAge is working with drug companies. It’s that they are doing this without giving users the option to opt-out. This is something that is done by so many online surveys, so you really have to be careful.

In the article, Annie Tomlin was not very happy about finding this out:

“It bothers me because I’m not a fan of the drug companies, and I don’t enjoy the idea of me giving them any help in marketing their medicine,” she said. “While it’s fantastic that we have certain medicines that help save people’s lives, there are also a lot of medicines that are very, very profitable that are pushed on people who don’t need them.”

While Leslie Swan said she was fine even though she didn’t know:

“So many patients are so clueless and they count on their doctor to know everything and be right 100 percent of the time and don’t always inform themselves, and I think that’s a huge mistake,” Ms. Swan said. “As a patient and a person, you have to take your health into your own hands.”

Personally, I am with Tomlin.  If I didn’t give you permission to use my information, then why are you contacting me?  If there should be any type of regulation, it should be for this.

Question is: Should online survey providers give you the opportunity to opt-out of the survey? Or do you think that it’s totally fine what they’re doing.

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