GitHub, Inc.

GitHub, Inc., a subsidiary of Microsoft, is a web-based platform for software development and collaboration that utilizes Git for version control. It is primarily used by developers to store, manage, and share code, as well as track and control changes to that code. With over 100 million developers and more than 420 million repositories as of January 2023, it is the world's largest host of source code. While not a traditional data broker that sells personal information, the public nature of GitHub profiles and repositories poses privacy risks. Personal information such as names, email addresses, and location can be exposed through user profiles and code commits, potentially leading to identity theft, stalking, or phishing attacks. To protect yourself, it is important to be mindful of the information shared on your public profile and in your repositories, and consider using features like private email addresses for commits.