How much do websites profit from your data?[ Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:08:40 EDT ]Savvy Internet users know that all the great stuff they get from the Internet us for "free"—the searches, the social networks, the games, even the news—isn't really free. It's an exchange, where companies are able to take user data, sell it to advertisers, and make money that allows them to give themselves a paycheck while keeping you afloat in free digital services.