The Internet has permeated into our lives so much that it is fueling an exponential growth of online tracking technologies. Wherever you go online, Internet trackers are bound to follow you.
When data from online trackers are collected from multiple sources, they can paint quite a detailed picture of your life. For example, your activities, interests and who you associate with can be revealed to whoever that is controlling your data.
It should be relatively harmless if your data is just used for targeted advertising. However, it can be an entirely different outcome if your data falls into the hands of people with sinister motives. Discrimination, financial losses or identity theft can encroach into your life if your data is mishandled or misused. Sometimes, your data is stolen by hackers and there is nothing much you can do about such incidents. At other times though, it could be due to a malware hiding in your computer devices.
Let’s then take a deeper look into the workings of common online trackers. Perhaps you might either be shocked or fascinated with what tracking technology can do after reading this post.
Websites Online Tracking
When you visit a website, some information about your device is automatically sent to the website’s server. This usually includes your IP address, the page you are viewing, the type of browser you are using, etc.
In addition, most websites will also store cookies in your computer. First party cookies can be useful as it enables the website to remember your preferences. Third party cookies however are usually placed by advertisers and they can track your movements across websites.
You can read more about tracking cookies in my previous post on online threats.
JavaScript Tracking
JavaScript is a popular programming language for the Web and most modern websites will not function properly without scripts.
According to Kernighan in his book, ‘Understanding The Digital World’, JavaScript code can access your browser’s history of web pages. The position of your mouse on the web page can also be monitored continuously. As you may have guessed, where you clicked can also be tracked. How you use your mouse basically gives an insight into your interests.
If you are concerned about tracking scripts, you can try using browser add-ons. NoScript for example allows you to selectively run scripts for sites you trust. This method may get tedious after a while though as many modern websites rely on JavaScript to run properly.
Browser Fingerprinting
Browser fingerprinting is a technique used to track and identify users based on their device and browser settings.
It basically attempts to collect unique details about a user’s system. Your browser type and version, operating system, screen resolution and installed fonts and plug-ins is captured.
Once there is sufficient user data is gathered, it’s possible to distinguish individual users without the need for cookies.
To find out if your browser has adequate protection against fingerprinting trackers, visit https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/. If you are concerned about this type of tracker, try using browsers like Brave or Tor that comes with anti-fingerprinting features. Browser add-ons like Privacy Badger or uBlock Origin can also be effective.
Web Beacons Online Tracking
Trackers are not confined to browsers but can also be found in email programs, video players and other digital systems.
If your email program allows HTML, then it can display a single pixel invisible image. This “image” is actually a form of tracker called a web beacon and it is often embedded in web pages and digital ads.
Web beacons are used to track user behavior and collect data such as pageviews, user data, and conversion tracking. Other data points include your IP address, device type, browser, geographic location and timestamps. Some sophisticated tracking pixels can also capture additional details like screen resolution, language settings, and user interactions.
You can find out more about what web beacons in my previous post on online threats.
Tech Tip: Protect your online privacy.
A lot of what you do online is tracked. There is no way to completely block or avoid all Internet trackers, but you can at least use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Use my affiliate link below to get your VPN offer and I may get a commission if you make an online purchase at Namecheap’s website.
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How Online Tracking Works
Social Networks Online Tracking
Online tracking is of course not a stranger in the social network realm. When you post or perform any interactive actions on social networking sites, you are letting more than just your friends and followers know more about you.
You get to use a commercial service for free because you allowed the companies that run the social platforms to gather data about you. Your data is then sold to third parties like advertisers, marketing companies or perhaps even the government.
It is no secret that social networking sites collect a huge amount of information about their users. Data monetization can be a very lucrative business if you know how to play the game well. For example, Facebook made billions of dollars in profit from mostly selling users’ data to presumably advertisers. Shockingly, this business model is still effective even after two decades as Facebook still remains mostly as a free service for end users.
Like any other websites, social networking sites use similar online trackers to monitor your activities. In addition, every time you like a post or engage with a content, algorithms come into action to analyze your behavior. Liking something online may seem innocent but your likes can be used to accurately predict characteristics like your gender, ethnic background, age, location, sexual orientation, political leanings, etc.
The above points might sound creepy but your data actually helps the platforms to personalize feeds, recommend friends or jobs, and serve targeted ads. After all, how can the social networking sites provide you better user experience if you do not provide them with data?
Smartphone Apps Online Tracking
When the the novelty of holding a smartphone was all the rage, I kind of hate it when people kept saying that there is always an app that can help you do this thing or that thing. Back then, data security was not really a hot topic but every user now should reconsider simply giving permission to an unknown app developer.
For example, if you just want a simple app for note taking, is it really appropriate for the developers to get access to your call logs, calendar and location? Even snapping a photo with your smartphone may reveal your location as photography apps may have geotagging enabled.
By the way, as long as your phone is connected to a cell service, you are trackable even if the location feature in your smartphone is not activated. In fact, pretty much every smartphone now comes with GPS, which can pinpoint the location of the phone within a radius of 10 metres.
Conclusion
Online tracking is an integral part of the modern Internet. Some trackers help websites to function efficiently, personalize user experiences and enable targeted advertising. However, they also come with significant privacy concerns, as they allow companies to monitor users’ online behavior, often without their full awareness or consent.
Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult and perhaps even futile to try to avoid online tracking. You may take some steps though to try to mitigate their impact. For example, you can set your browsers to clear cookies regularly or use privacy focused browsers or extensions. Using a VPN can also help make it more difficult for online trackers to follow your trail.
As technology advances, you can be assured that there will follow a growth of online tracking technologies. In this post, we have not even discussed about the pervasive use of face recognition and biometric scanning that are increasingly being forced unto people in government departments and banks.
It might be rather pointless to resist trackers but we can certainly take some effort to stay informed about developments in online tracking. After all, you wouldn’t want to be caught unaware if someone out of the blue reveals something about you that you thought was a private matter.
