But these are fairly weak tools, easily bypassed. The browser has been the focal point of self-protection online, with options to block cookies, purge your browsing history or not record it in the first place, and turn off ad tracking. Browsers and privacy: The best options, and how they can help But it’s also worrying to be profiled extensively, which is what browser privacy seeks to reduce. You should be most worried about when you are personally identifiable. (Over the years, laws have tried to prevent such redlining, but there are creative ways around it, such as installing a tracking device in your car “to save you money” and identify those who may be higher risks but haven’t had the accidents yet to prove it.) Certainly, governments want that personal data, in the name of control or security. So may insurers and healthcare organizations seeking to filter out undesirable customers. That’s common for business-oriented websites whose advertisers want to reach specific people with purchasing power.Ĭriminals may want that data too. They can then correlate all the data they have from your devices to you specifically, and use that to target you individually. When companies do want that personal information - your name, gender, age, address, phone number, company, titles, and more - they will have you sign up. ![]() Neither do criminals and organizations seeking to commit fraud or manipulate an election. For that need, they don’t care who the person actually is. Marketers and advertisers are looking for certain kinds of people, and they use profiles to do so. Most websites and services don’t actually know it’s you at their site, just a browser associated with a lot of characteristics that can then be turned into a profile. When speaking of online privacy, it’s important to understand what is typically tracked. It’s not a comforting report! (Click any image in this story to enlarge it.) Understanding online privacy Safari’s Privacy Monitor feature shows you how many trackers the browser has blocked, and who exactly is trying to track you. On my most-used computer, I’m averaging about 80 tracking deflections per week - a number that has happily decreased from about 150 a year ago. ![]() It is pretty disconcerting to use, as it reveals just how many tracking attempts it thwarted in the last 30 days, and exactly which sites are trying to track you and how often. CNN, for example, had 36 running when I checked recently.Īpple’s Safari 14 browser introduced the built-in Privacy Monitor that really shows how much your privacy is under attack today. Trackers are the latest silent way to spy on you in your browser. And there are many new ways to monitor you that didn’t exist in 1999: always-listening agents like Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri, Bluetooth beacons in smartphones, cross-device syncing of browsers to provide a full picture of your activities from every device you use, and of course social media platforms like Facebook that thrive because they are designed for you to share everything about yourself and your connections so you can be monetized. The technology to monitor everything you do has only gotten better. How to go incognito in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari.How to stay as private as possible on Apple’s iPad and iPhone. ![]() The ultimate guide to privacy on Android.How to stay as private as possible on the Mac. ![]()
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