Monopoly price discrimination and privacy: The hidden cost of hiding

•A monopolist can identify a consumer's willingness to pay with some probability.•Consumers can stay unidentified at some cost.•Consumers may be collectively better off absent this possibility.

A monopolist can use a 'tracking' technology to identify a consumer's willingness to pay with some probability. Consumers can counteract tracking by acquiring a 'hiding' technology. We show that consumers may be collectively better off absent this hiding technology.