Alternatives from the industry look far worse. They often involve asking people for email or phone numbers. This can work for some advertising objectives and interactions, but it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of measurement quality. That’s far worse for people. It’s annoying, because being badgered is annoying, and you always know that sharing contact information inevitably leads to more spam.
I think that there is also a fair expectation that this data, once handed out, is on the open market pretty promptly. No one believes the promises that companies make.
— Alan ChapellReplicated under Fair Use from The W3C Attribution API by Alan Chapell.