100% synthetic persona — no real PII

How personalized can a website get — and where does each fact come from?

One visitor, Maya Chen. Climb the tiers to see how much a site can know — from an anonymous landing page, to a Google sign-in, to a purchased data append. Every fact is tagged with its provenance: collected by us, declared, granted via Google, or bought. Then flip tasteful → creepy to see the difference a surface policy makes.

0 · none Anonymous landing 1 · cookie Returning visitor 2 · email Identified — gave email 3 · google Signed in with Google 4 · google + Purchased append 5 · google + Existing customer 6 · google Full identity graph

We've seen this browser before (a cookie, or a device fingerprint that survives clearing it).

Tasteful Creepy 👁 surface policy switched OFF — every available fact, printed, tagged with where it came from

18of 52 facts knowable at this tier

18printed on the page

18that a policy would have hidden

2bought from third parties

We've been expecting you, Maya. 👁

▼ Anonymous landing

You're in Austin, Texas. Collected ourselves (passive)
MaxMind GeoIP2 / IP2Location · $0 (free GeoIP DB)

⚠…within about two miles of the 78722 ZIP — the Mueller neighborhood. Collected ourselves (passive)
IP geolocation (ZIP-level) · $0

On a residential Spectrum line — so you're at home, not the office. Collected ourselves (passive)
IP → ISP / ASN lookup · $0

If this were an office IP we'd already know your employer — yours is residential, so: working from home. Collected ourselves (passive)
Clearbit Reveal / KickFire · ~$0.01 / lookup

On an iPhone 13 running iOS 17.4, in Safari. Collected ourselves (passive)
User-Agent + Client Hints · $0

⚠A two-year-old, non-Pro phone — we can guess your budget from your hardware. Collected ourselves (passive)
Model → release-date + price tier · $0

Dark mode, battery-saver on, one tab open. Collected ourselves (passive)
JS: screen, prefers-color-scheme · $0

⚠Your battery's at 18% and falling — better make this quick. Collected ourselves (passive)
Battery Status API · $0

It's 11:47 PM on a Tuesday where you are — a late-night browse. Collected ourselves (passive)
JS Date + IANA timezone · $0

⚠Your browser lists Chinese as a second language — a hint about who you are. Collected ourselves (passive)
Accept-Language header · $0

You came from our Instagram ad — the 'from barista to AI engineer' creative. Collected ourselves (passive)
Referrer + UTM parameters · $0

⚠Even with cookies off, this exact device hashes to fp_9f3a — we'll recognize you on your next 'anonymous' visit. Collected ourselves (passive)
FingerprintJS · ~$0.005 / match (pro tier)

▼ Returning visitor

This is your 4th visit in 6 days. Our own database
First-party cookie / fingerprint · $0

You keep returning to the night cohort and the pricing page. Our own database
Site analytics · $0

You read 90% of the financing FAQ and lingered two minutes. Our own database
Scroll-depth + dwell tracking · $0

You started the application Sunday and didn't finish it. Our own database
Form analytics · $0

⚠You're in our Meta retargeting pool — that's why we've chased you across Instagram seven times. Purchased (data broker append)
Meta Pixel / Google Ads tag · ad spend

⚠We can see you comparison-shopped two competitors this week. Purchased (data broker append)
DMP / cookie-sync (Lotame, Oracle BlueKai) · $$ subscription

😬 Every line above is real data with a real way to obtain it. The only thing separating this from the tasteful page is the surface policy — none of this is *new* collection.

Where the data comes from

Six provenance classes. The count is how many facts each one yields at this tier. See the full paid/free source list on the enrichment catalog.

Collected ourselves (passive) 12

The HTTP request + a few lines of JavaScript, the instant the page loads. No login, no form, often no cookie. You give it to every site you visit.

💵 $0 (optionally a few ¢ for a reverse-IP or fingerprint lookup)

Our own database 4

Behaviour we logged on previous visits (cookies / device match) and records in our CRM. We already own it — no third party involved.

💵 $0 (we collected it)

Declared by the visitor 0

A field they filled in — a newsletter box, a lead form, an account signup. The cleanest data there is: they chose to tell us.

💵 $0

Granted via Google sign-in 0

"Sign in with Google" hands us OAuth scopes. Profile is one click; but the consent screen can also grant calendar, Gmail metadata, YouTube, contacts and location history — an enormous jump for one tap.

💵 $0 (the price is the permission)

Purchased (data broker append) 2

Match a name+email+address against a data broker (Acxiom, Experian, Epsilon, Oracle Data Cloud) and append what they've compiled: income, life events, demographics, propensities. Billions of attributes, sold per record.

💵 ~$0.05–0.25 per record matched

Identity graph (cross-device + offline) 0

An identity-resolution vendor (LiveRamp, Tapad) ties this browser to your other devices, your household, and offline data sold by retailers — loyalty cards, credit-card panels, smart-TV viewing. The complete picture.

💵 $$ platform subscription

Unlocked by reaching “Returning visitor”

Our own database Visit history: 4th visit in 6 days ●●●●●
Our own database What you looked at: 'Night cohort' ×3, pricing ×2 ●●●●●
Our own database How you read: Read 90% of the financing FAQ, 2m11s ●●●●●
Our own database Unfinished actions: Started the application, didn't submit ●●●●●
Purchased (data broker append) Ad retargeting pool: Meta audience 'career-switch-warm' · shown 7 ads ●●●●●
Purchased (data broker append) Comparison shopping: Visited 2 competitor bootcamps this week ●●●●●

The provenance ledger — every fact, where it's from, what we did with it

said stated literally · steer shapes selection, not stated · withheld known, held back · shown printed (creepy) · locked needs a higher tier

Data point	Value (synthetic)	Where from	Cost	Creepy	Policy	Here
Approximate location Resolve the visitor's IP address to a city.	Austin, Texas (metro)	Collected ourselves (passive) MaxMind GeoIP2 / IP2Location	$0 (free GeoIP DB)	●●●●●	allude	shown
Neighborhood Same IP lookup, at neighborhood resolution.	~2 mi of ZIP 78722 (Mueller)	Collected ourselves (passive) IP geolocation (ZIP-level)	$0	●●●●●	hold	shown
Connection Map the IP to its owning network and connection type.	Spectrum cable · residential	Collected ourselves (passive) IP → ISP / ASN lookup	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
Company (reverse-IP) Match the IP to a company's network to de-anonymize B2B visits.	(residential — no company match)	Collected ourselves (passive) Clearbit Reveal / KickFire	~$0.01 / lookup	●●●●●	allude	shown
Device & OS The browser announces device, OS and version on every request.	Apple iPhone 13 · iOS 17.4 · Safari	Collected ourselves (passive) User-Agent + Client Hints	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
Device economics Infer age and price bracket from the device model.	≈2-yr-old, non-Pro model	Collected ourselves (passive) Model → release-date + price tier	$0	●●●●●	hold	shown
Screen & theme A few JS properties read on load.	390×844 · dark mode · battery-saver on	Collected ourselves (passive) JS: screen, prefers-color-scheme	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
Battery level JS reads the device battery level and charging state.	18% and dropping (not charging)	Collected ourselves (passive) Battery Status API	$0	●●●●●	hold	shown
Local time The browser's clock and timezone, read in JS.	11:47 PM, Tuesday	Collected ourselves (passive) JS Date + IANA timezone	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
Languages The ranked language list your browser sends.	en-US, then zh-CN	Collected ourselves (passive) Accept-Language header	$0	●●●●●	hold	shown
Where you came from The link that sent you carries the campaign + creative.	Instagram ad · campaign 'career_switch_q3'	Collected ourselves (passive) Referrer + UTM parameters	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
Device fingerprint Hash your canvas, fonts and GPU into an ID that survives clearing cookies.	fp_9f3a… (canvas+fonts+GPU hash)	Collected ourselves (passive) FingerprintJS	~$0.005 / match (pro tier)	●●●●●	hold	shown
Visit history Tie this session to prior ones we logged.	4th visit in 6 days	Our own database First-party cookie / fingerprint	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
What you looked at Every page, in order, time-stamped.	'Night cohort' ×3, pricing ×2	Our own database Site analytics	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
How you read JS records scroll position and time on each block.	Read 90% of the financing FAQ, 2m11s	Our own database Scroll-depth + dwell tracking	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
Unfinished actions Partial form state captured field-by-field, before submit.	Started the application, didn't submit	Our own database Form analytics	$0	●●●●●	allude	shown
Ad retargeting pool A 3rd-party pixel adds you to ad audiences across the web.	Meta audience 'career-switch-warm' · shown 7 ads	Purchased (data broker append) Meta Pixel / Google Ads tag	ad spend	●●●●●	hold	shown
Comparison shopping Cross-site browsing bought from a data-management platform.	Visited 2 competitor bootcamps this week	Purchased (data broker append) DMP / cookie-sync (Lotame, Oracle BlueKai)	$$ subscription	●●●●●	hold	shown
Name They typed it into a field.	Maya	Declared by the visitor Newsletter / lead form	$0	●●●●●	say	locked
Email They typed it.	maya.chen@gmail.com	Declared by the visitor Form field	$0	●●●●●	say	locked
Stated goal They wrote it in their own words.	"switch into AI without going broke"	Declared by the visitor Free-text form field	$0	●●●●●	say	locked
Linked photo & accounts Hash the email and look it up across services.	Gravatar photo + 9 sites tied to this email	Collected ourselves (passive) Gravatar / hash lookup	$0	●●●●●	hold	locked
Breach exposure Check the email against breach corpora.	Appears in 3 known breaches	Collected ourselves (passive) Have I Been Pwned	$0	●●●●●	hold	locked
Verified name & photo One click grants name, photo, locale.	Maya Chen + verified profile photo	Granted via Google sign-in Google OAuth · profile scope	$0 (consented)	●●●●●	say	locked
Verified email + recovery Verified address, and that a recovery phone exists.	maya.chen@gmail.com (verified) · recovery phone on file	Granted via Google sign-in Google OAuth · email scope	$0 (consented)	●●●●●	allude	locked
Account maturity Account age and activity hints.	Google account since 2009 · 'power user'	Granted via Google sign-in Profile metadata	$0	●●●●●	allude	locked
Your calendar The consent screen can include calendar read — most people don't notice.	'OB checkup Thu 2pm', 'daycare tour Sat'	Granted via Google sign-in Google OAuth · calendar.readonly	$0 (one extra checkbox)	●●●●●	hold	locked
Inbox metadata Senders + subjects reveal purchases without reading bodies.	Receipts from Pampers, BuyBuyBaby, a fertility clinic	Granted via Google sign-in Google OAuth · gmail.metadata	$0	●●●●●	hold	locked
Watch history Watch + search history as interest signals.	Recently: 'newborn sleep', 'career switch at 34'	Granted via Google sign-in Google OAuth · YouTube Data API	$0	●●●●●	hold	locked
Location history Months of timestamped places.	Home: Mueller · work: downtown · 2 hospital visits this month	Granted via Google sign-in Google OAuth · Maps Timeline	$0	●●●●●	hold	locked
Contacts graph Your whole address book, with labels.	1,840 contacts · partner 'Jordan', an OB-GYN, your mom	Granted via Google sign-in Google OAuth · People API	$0	●●●●●	hold	locked
Household income Append modeled income to a name+address match.	Modeled $115–135K band	Purchased (data broker append) Experian / Acxiom income model	~$0.05–0.25 / record	●●●●●	hold	locked
Home & residence Public deeds + broker compilation.	Homeowner · ~$540K home · 4 yrs in residence	Purchased (data broker append) Property records / Acxiom	bundled in append	●●●●●	allude	locked
Net worth band Modeled from assets, home, credit.	$250–500K	Purchased (data broker append) Experian wealth model	bundled	●●●●●	hold	locked
Life event: separation Brokers sell change-of-status triggers as they happen.	Trigger: 'recently separated'	Purchased (data broker append) Epsilon / Experian life-event triggers	premium trigger	●●●●●	hold	locked
Life event: new baby New-parent is one of the most-traded triggers.	Trigger: 'new parent', infant 0–6mo	Purchased (data broker append) Epsilon life-event triggers	premium trigger	●●●●●	hold	locked
Vehicle Registration + service data compiled and sold.	Drives a 2021 Subaru Outback	Purchased (data broker append) Oracle Data Cloud / Polk auto	bundled	●●●●●	allude	locked
Education & occupation Compiled demographics.	BS · occupation: software/IT	Purchased (data broker append) Acxiom InfoBase	bundled	●●●●●	allude	locked
Political profile Voter rolls + modeling, sold for targeting.	Leans Democrat · high turnout · past donor	Purchased (data broker append) L2 / Aristotle voter file	voter-file license	●●●●●	hold	locked
Health ad audiences Inferred condition audiences sold for ad targeting.	'Expectant/new parent', 'seasonal allergy sufferer'	Purchased (data broker append) Health-adjacent ad audiences	audience license	●●●●●	hold	locked
Ethnic affinity Name + geography modeled into an 'affinity'.	Modeled: Chinese	Purchased (data broker append) Acxiom ethnic-affinity model	bundled	●●●●●	hold	locked
In-market signals Predicted near-term purchases.	Minivan, baby gear, term life insurance	Purchased (data broker append) Bombora / Oracle propensity	subscription	●●●●●	hold	locked
Customer history We already have an account record.	Took 'Intro to Python' with us, 2023	Our own database Our CRM	$0 (we own it)	●●●●●	say	locked
Spend & support Lifetime value and support load.	LTV $349 · 1 purchase · 3 support tickets	Our own database CRM / billing	$0	●●●●●	allude	locked
Risk segment A score we computed on our own data.	Churn-risk 0.31 · 'price-sensitive'	Our own database Internal model	$0	●●●●●	hold	locked
Payment on file Stored from the last purchase.	Visa •••• 4242, exp 11/26	Our own database Billing system	$0	●●●●●	hold	locked
Advocacy Your own feedback to us.	NPS 9 · left a public 5★ review	Our own database Survey + reviews	$0	●●●●●	say	locked
Cross-device Deterministic + probabilistic linking of all your devices.	This iPhone + a work MacBook + a home iPad = one you	Identity graph (cross-device + offline) LiveRamp / Tapad	$$ subscription	●●●●●	hold	locked
Household Devices + addresses clustered into a household.	2 adults (Maya, Jordan) + 1 infant	Identity graph (cross-device + offline) LiveRamp household graph	$$	●●●●●	hold	locked
Offline purchases Loyalty-card baskets sold and matched to your identity.	Target loyalty: diapers + formula weekly; Whole Foods 3×/wk	Identity graph (cross-device + offline) Retail loyalty data resold to brokers	$$	●●●●●	hold	locked
Card-spend panel Anonymized-then-rematched card data sold to marketers.	Baby-gear spike; $0 restaurants since April	Identity graph (cross-device + offline) Credit-card transaction panels	$$	●●●●●	hold	locked
Smart-TV viewing Your TV reports what's on screen, frame-matched.	Heavy HGTV + late-night cartoons	Identity graph (cross-device + offline) Smart-TV ACR (Samba, Vizio Inscape)	$$	●●●●●	hold	locked

Text only, for now — the same signals would drive the layout next: reorder sections, swap hero imagery, change the offer. The provenance ledger is the point — nothing reaches the page without a receipt for where it came from.