Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Artist Got 380 People To Trade Their Personal Data For A Cookie
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 2, 2014
Modified Oct 2, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Scott Lynch/Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 2, 2014
Modified Oct 2, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The most compelling exhibit we stumbled across at last week's DUMBO Arts Festival was Risa Puno's "Please Enable Cookies." Puno baked 700 confections iced to resemble the logos of social media companies; to get one you had to turn over personal information, such as your email address, your mother's maiden name, the last four digits of your SSN, and even your fingerprints. ProPublica followed up with Puno and found that 380 New Yorkers participated in the physical phishing performance, 162 of them giving up their SSN info, 117 of them relinquishing their fingerprints, and more than half posing for a photo.
As part of the installation, Puno refused to tell her customers what she had planned on doing with the data, and they signed a document releasing their information to her and allowing it to be shared and displayed.
Many people gave her more information than she asked for.
"That to me was baffling," she told ProPublica. "If I were thinking about giving away my information, I wasn't giving away more than I had to."
Puno's installation echoes Data Dealer, a game designed to teach you about how stunningly easy it is for entities to legally obtain your personal information and sell it wholesale.
Puno says she doesn't know what she'll do with all the data she's collected. Maybe she'll destroy it, or maybe she'll "hold onto them forever."
Your soul for a selfie:
Puno said some participants did not even eat their cookies — they just wanted to take pictures of them. Cookies decorated with the Instagram logo were so popular among photographers that Puno required "purchasers" to give their fingerprints, the last four digits of their Social Security numbers and their driver's license information. Many still agreed. "They wanted to hold it against the sky with the bridge in the background," she said.
Tagged
come on people
Dumbo Arts Festival
personal data
privacy
risa puno
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain
Gothamist went behind the scenes to learn how the NYC landmark keeps its majestic waters flowing.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 23, 2026
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."
By
James Ramsay
A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings
By
Hannah Frishberg
A new film invites you to eavesdrop on one of the greatest conversations in NYC history
By
Sonia Rao
The Knicks are NBA champions. Now they have to start dressing the part.
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .