My Sunday on tutti.ch: from kitchen gadget to global data auction

Certain things still astonish me—more on that perhaps tomorrow; I’m currently analyzing the 778 partners. And I only wanted to browse tutti to see if anyone was selling an accessory for my Kenwood food processor.

I posted something like that last night, on Facebook I think. I love cooking, I love gadgets, and so I enjoy thinking about accessories for my trusty Kenwood food processor. Since I’m also cheap, tutti.ch is my first stop for finding spare parts. So I ended up—as often happens with used goods—on tutti.ch. But before I started searching, my eye caught the privacy settings from OneTrust. One click, one furrowed brow. And just like that, I was back in the thick of one of my favorite topics: the digital data trail.

tutti.ch lists no fewer than 778 partners with whom they potentially share my (and your) data. 778! Let that sink in for a moment.

From Listing to Global Data Auction

My analysis of 646 of these partners using a Python script paints a clear picture. It’s a complex ecosystem of ad-tech firms, data brokers, and marketing platforms operating in the background while you hunt for bargains. The key findings:

Over 64% of the partners pose a high or very high data protection risk.
Nearly half (46%) engage in intensive data trading, systematically passing collected information on to other actors.
17% of the companies offer only low transparency, meaning you as a user can barely trace what happens to your data.

The Shadow Players: Insights into the Surveillance Industry

Who are these partners? A few particularly explosive examples:

Xandr (Microsoft): Risk score 8.2 out of 10. According to NGO noyb, Xandr responds to 0% of deletion requests under the GDPR.
IQM Corporation: Risk score 8.2. Specializes in heavily regulated sectors like politics and healthcare.
Ad-Shield, Inc.: Specializes in serving ads to users with ad blockers.
ABCS INSIGHTS: Analyzes purchase data from financial transactions and retail receipts.

What You Can Do: Practical Recommendations

You are not helpless against this data shuffling. Here are concrete steps:

For immediate self-protection:

Browser hygiene: Block third-party cookies and enable “Do Not Track.”
Use privacy tools: uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, VPN.
Exercise opt-out options: Platforms like YourOnlineChoices.com.

For long-term change:

Assert your rights: Submit access requests under the Swiss Data Protection Act (DSG).
Build political pressure: Support organizations advocating for a ban on surveillance-based advertising.

A Call to Responsibility

This analysis is hopefully also a wake-up call to the operators of tutti.ch. I am directly addressing Christoph Tonini, CEO of the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, on behalf of all users:

Dear Mr. Tonini, the sheer number of 778 partners is no longer comprehensible for your users and undermines trust in your platform. I urge you to drastically reduce your partner list in the interest of transparency and data protection.

Conclusion: The End of Innocence

The search for a food processor part triggered an avalanche for me. This admittedly overnight analysis has shown how deeply the surveillance industry has infiltrated our digital everyday lives. It’s time for you, as a user, to fight back.

Methodology: The risk assessments are based on a systematic analysis of 646 of the 778 partner companies using five quantitative criteria.

Transparency note: This post was created with partial use of AI tools such as Gemini, Perplexity, and Manus.