KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Understand how online tracking works
- Find out what they are collecting and why
- Learn about its impact on your security and freedom
- Discover practical steps to protect yourself
Ever searched for something once and suddenly saw ads for it everywhere? Coincidence? Yes, probably not. The internet remembers a lot more than you think: where you click, where you go, how long you stay, and even what you almost buy and then ditch.
Don’t believe me? According to India Today, more than 70 percent of smartphone apps are reporting personal data to third-party companies like Google and Facebook. Online tracking is always some scary hacker thing. Most of the time, its website, apps, and advertisers quietly collect data to “improve your experience” (or so they say).
But here is the catch: if you don’t know what’s being tracked or who has access to it, your privacy slowly slips away without you noticing. Let’s continue with this article and understand how online tracking works, steps to take back a bit of control, and browse without feeling watched all the time.
Online tracking is not a stagnant way that just involves constant activity, but rather it is a practices that combine various approaches. Even though some of the tracking is required for the normal operation of a website—e.g., to keep you logged in or remember what you put in the shopping cart—most of it is invasive and invisible.
Cookies are undoubtedly the most popular way of tracking. They are basically small text files which websites save in your browser.
Web beacons (or tracking pixels) are small, transparent images mainly inserted in emails and webpages. You cannot see them but when your browser finds them, it sends the information back to the tracker. Marketers use these mainly in newsletters to know if you have opened an email, what the time was when you opened it, and your IP address.
The more knowledgeable the users are about cookies, the more trackers come up with the idea of browser fingerprinting. This approach covers comprehensive information about your very specific device, such as the screen resolution, operating system, browser version, installed fonts, and battery level.
Bunching these pieces of information creates a unique “fingerprint” that can identify you with terrifying accuracy even after you have deleted the cookies or used the incognito mode.
Interesting Facts
Social media platforms are the largest data collectors, with Meta collecting 79.49% of all legally accessible data.
The amount of data collected is simply mind-blowing. They can be categorized as follows, depending on their nature, from very basic to very sensitive information.
The paramount importance of gathering data is best for curating creative advertisements. By learning your behaviors, companies can make hyper-targeted advertising that you are most likely to click on. However, the usage is not limited to a product sale.
The effects of constant tracking are not only limited to the frustration when weird ads track you everywhere on the internet.
The “I have nothing to hide” is an argument that loses its power once the big picture becomes clear in the form of an in-depth data profile. It’s not about secrets anymore but about the ability to make free choices. When machines know you better than you know yourself, they can influence your decisions, e.g., what you buy or how you vote.
Huge chunks of data are always surrounded by malicious hackers. If the data broker or the insecurely stored marketing company that holds your data is hacked, your detailed personal information might be released on the dark web which could result in your identity being stolen or you could be a victim of phishing.
Algorithms sort the users and categorize high-value and low-value targets. This may result in digital redlining where certain demographics may be excluded from getting ads for housing, jobs, or loans based on their data profile.
Governments have taken measures as the realization that the self-regulation of the tech companies has not been successful sets in.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) The EU has passed one of the strictest privacy and security regulations in the world, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It mandates that companies must obtain the user’s explicit consent before collecting data (thus the cookie banners you keep coming across) and also provides the users with the option of accessing and deleting their data.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)The legislation from the USA directs that the residents of California are to be informed about their personal data collection, the disclosure or sale of such data, and the recipient of the data. Also, the residents have a right to refuse the sale of their personal information.
Even though these laws are certainly a step in the right direction, they typically result in “consent fatigue” of the users who end up clicking “Accept All” without reading anything just to get the content, which makes the protections far from effective in real life.
You don’t necessarily have to disappear from the face of the earth to up your game in terms of digital privacy. The right tools coupled with a change of habit can drastically minimize your digital footprint.
Today’s most popular browsers usually focus on providing a fast and convenient service to users at the expense of ignoring privacy.
To save yourself from being tracked, switch to Firefox (privacy mode on), Brave, or Tor, which are built to automatically block trackers. These browsers remove third-party cookies and also implement resistance mechanisms against fingerprinting.
The first line of defense is your extensions. Apart from blocking ads, the tools such as uBlock Origin or Privacy Badger also prevent scripts from running that track your activity.
These platforms are known for sucking up enormous amounts of data.
You need to regularly check how your privacy settings look and make sure that only the people you want can see your posts, and at the same time, you should restrict the platform’s ability to track you off-site.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) encrypts your data traffic between your device and the server on the web and also masks your IP address – it is thus significantly difficult for the websites and Internet Service Provider (ISP) to determine your real location as well as your browsing history.
When it comes to selecting a VPN, reliability and speed are non-negotiable. Cybernews often points to NordVPN as a top-tier choice because of its robust encryption standards and massive server network. It effectively masks your IP address, ensuring that your online movements remain yours alone.
If you are ready to secure your digital life without breaking the bank, you can find a dedicated NordVPN discount on the CyberNews website, which offers substantial savings on premium protection.
Online tracking is just another tool on the online spectrum, but it does not have to be your life sentence. By learning the basics of data collection mechanisms such as cookies and fingerprinting, you can have a fair idea of the trade-offs that you are ready to live with.
Guarding your privacy calls for determination on your part. You need to make better choices in terms of tools, tweak some settings, and at times give up a little bit of convenience for the sake of security.
Most people, however, will agree that it is a much safer and more private internet experience where you are the user and not the product. Start with one little thing like setting up an ad blocker or turning on a VPN and be the master of your online presence.
They do it to understand how people use their site and, in simple words, make more money through better advertising.
It affects privacy by collecting, sharing, and selling detailed information about users’ habits, interests, location, and identity across websites.
Yes, because these often unencrypted networks allow cybercriminals to intercept data, steal credentials, and monitor online activity.
