andmepüük

Andmepüük is the practice of collecting large amounts of data from diverse sources for analysis, research, or decision making. It often relies on automated tools such as web crawlers, scrapers, and API integrations to extract information that is publicly accessible or available under permission. Data can come from websites, social media, public registries, product catalogs, news outlets, and other online platforms. The resulting datasets may be structured or unstructured and typically undergo cleaning, deduplication, and normalization before analysis.

Common methods include web scraping, API-based data collection, and data mining, sometimes combined with data enrichment from secondary sources. Data sources may be public or licensed, and collectors may aggregate information about products, prices, opinions, or user behavior. The aims range from market and competitive intelligence to trend analysis, fraud detection, and academic research. In commercial contexts, data harvesting supports pricing strategies, customer segmentation, and predictive modeling.

Legal and ethical considerations are central to operate in this area. European Union and national laws govern the collection and use of personal data, with GDPR providing core protections. Many websites also restrict automated access in their terms of service. Responsible data harvesting emphasizes consent, data minimization, anonymization, and compliance with privacy regulations, as well as respect for robots.txt, rate limits, and data ownership. Risks include privacy violations, inaccuracies, bias, and potential misuse of data, which can affect individuals and organizations alike.