Over the past few years writing for the Marblehead Current, I’ve noticed something interesting: The biggest tech stories aren’t usually about the technology itself. They’re about what technology quietly learns about us.
And lately, the lesson seems to be this: The internet remembers more about you than you think.
Your “anonymous” account probably isn’t. Many people assume that if they create a second account with a different name, they’re invisible online. But new research suggests otherwise. A recent study found that artificial intelligence can link anonymous accounts back to real people about 68% of the time. Even more surprising, when the system does make a match, it’s correct about 90% of the time.
How? Not by hacking your password or tracing your location. Instead, it studies your writing. The length of your sentences. The words you favor. Even how you use commas and exclamation points. All of those small habits form something like a digital fingerprint.
In other words, the way you write online may reveal more about you than your username ever does.
That has real implications. It could expose executives quietly running anonymous social media accounts. It could also affect whistleblowers, activists or anyone who depends on anonymity for safety. Even the occasional one-star online review written in a moment of frustration might not be as anonymous as it seems.
Meanwhile, tech companies want more of our personal data than ever before.
Microsoft recently introduced a feature called Copilot Health, which aims to act like an AI medical assistant. With permission, it can connect to medical records, prescriptions, lab results and even health data from devices such as the Apple Watch. The system reportedly integrates with more than 50,000 hospitals and healthcare providers.
The idea is convenience. In theory, the AI could help interpret lab results, remind you about medications or help organize your medical history.
Microsoft says it will not use this personal health information to train its AI systems. Still, it’s another example of how quickly we’ve moved from “never share personal information online” to connecting our most sensitive data to digital services.
A generation ago, people were hesitant to type their real name into a website. Today, many of us are linking our heart rate, prescriptions and lab reports to online platforms. And sometimes technology reshapes markets in ways nobody expects. Take the gaming world. A newly released Nintendo title, Pokémon Pokopia, has become the highest-rated Pokémon game in more than a decade. In the game, players control Ditto — a friendly pink character — as it builds a small world and garden.
Within four days of release, the game sold 2.2 million copies. Investors took notice. Nintendo’s stock jumped 18% in a single week, largely driven by excitement around the launch. It’s a reminder that even in a world filled with advanced technology and artificial intelligence, sometimes a cheerful cartoon character can still move markets.
Not every internet success story is ending well, though. BuzzFeed, once famous for quizzes and viral listicles, recently issued what’s called a “going concern” warning, meaning the company may not be able to continue operating over the next year without significant changes. At its peak in 2021, BuzzFeed went public with a valuation of about $1.5 billion. Today, its stock trades for roughly a penny — a decline of more than 98%.
The problem isn’t that people stopped scrolling. They didn’t. But digital advertising shifted rapidly toward platforms like TikTok and Instagram, leaving many older media models struggling to keep up. The company says it’s exploring “strategic options,” which in plain English usually means it’s searching for a buyer or a major turnaround.
Technology moves quickly. But the larger pattern remains the same: every new tool brings new convenience — and new questions about privacy, trust, and how much of our lives we’re willing to connect to the digital world.
And as the research about “anonymous” accounts suggests, the internet may know us better than we realize.
Until next time, “stay safe out there”!
(The source for many of these tips were provided by Kim Komando of komando.com.
Stephen Bach is the owner and chief of surgery at The Digital Docs.
