datenkraken

D2A1T1E1N1K5R1A1K5E1N1

noun

Internet-oriented companies that have a large number of users and possess detailed personal information on them, presumably without their consent.

OriginGerman Datenkraken →
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

noundatenkraken pl (plural only)
  1. derogatorypluralplural onlyInternet-oriented companies that have a large number of users and possess detailed personal information on them, presumably without their consent.

    It is a narrative that has cast the American datenkraken as the arch enemy.

    2014, Juliette Garside, The Guardian., Europe gears up to fight back against giant US beasts of the internet

Origin

  1. GermanDatenkraken
  2. Englishdatenkraken

Borrowed from German Datenkraken, plural of Datenkrake, itself a compound of Daten (“data”) and Krake (“octopus”), invoking an imagery of such a company being an octopus having its virtual "tentacles" deeply penetrating its users' online habits.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

datenkraken. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/datenkraken

MLA

“datenkraken.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/datenkraken. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “datenkraken,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/datenkraken.

Source: datenkraken on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.