Internet Browser Tracking: A Guide to Staying Safe Online

As you browse the internet, your online activities are being tracked by various entities, including websites, advertisers, and even your internet service provider. This can be unsettling, especially when you consider that some of this tracking can be invasive and even malicious.

Cookies are a primary tool used for tracking, with most websites using them to collect and store information about your browsing habits. These cookies can be used to create a detailed profile of your online behavior.

Your browser's cookies can also be shared with third-party companies, allowing them to build a comprehensive picture of your online activities. This can be done without your explicit consent or knowledge.

To stay safe online, it's essential to understand how tracking works and take steps to protect your privacy.

Internet browser tracking is the collection and sharing of information about your activity on the internet. This can include what you do online and how you go about doing it.

Companies use software tools, like website trackers, beacons, and other tracking files, to observe how you interact with their websites.

These tracking files are often referred to as cookies, which will be discussed in more detail later.

Browser tracking is an example of web tracking, which is the practice of monitoring how a website changes over time.

Data collection can be handled by companies themselves, or by data brokers that compile and sell data for other companies to use.

There are several types of tracking that occur when you browse the internet. One of the most common types is through HTTP cookies, which collect and send tracking information from your visitor's web browser to your analytics platform.

HTTP cookies are the main source of data you receive when tracking who visited your website. You can use them to understand how people interact with your content.

A tracking pixel is another type of tracking that can be embedded into outbound emails. This pixel tracks whether you open an email, click on a link within the email, and follows your journey all the way through to becoming a customer.

Here are some common types of data that online trackers collect:

First-party tracking is performed by the website you're visiting, and it monitors your behavior to remember your preferences, such as the type of content you usually prefer.

First-party tracking is performed by the website you're visiting, monitoring your behavior to remember your preferences like language settings and location.

You probably want the sites you visit frequently to load in your preferred language and settings, so first-party tracking isn't usually a big concern.

However, the situation gets murkier if first-party sites sell access to your data to marketers.

Third-party tracking happens when parties other than the website you're using also track your activity there, often loading cookies that track your behavior on other sites you may visit in the future.

This is why the definition of a third-party website includes all the websites that can see what you're doing on other sites, and third-party behavioral tracking is often used to help advertisers tailor their ads to your implied preferences.

Companies track you on the web, and it's not just the websites you interact with. Pretty much everyone, including Google, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and almost every other website, service provider, or app, is tracking your internet activity.

Your data is extremely valuable, and companies want to learn as much about you as they can. This knowledge allows them to tailor their apps to your preferences and target you with messages you're more likely to engage with.

Companies use a variety of tools and methods to gather insights about your behavior and preferences on the web. You can control whether or not a company can access certain types of your personal data, but you don't have any sort of guarantee of privacy on the internet if you aren't using dedicated anti-tracking tools.

Some websites allow you to download the data they have on you, and you can try downloading your Google data to see just how much of your personal life you're exposing on the internet.

Data brokers are companies that aggregate data and sell it to other parties, and they often own an average of 3,000 pieces of data about each of the 350 million people in their database. This data can include your location, online habits, and even medical info and credit scores.

Most website user tracking can be sorted into a few broad categories based on how the tracking works, including HTTP cookies, tracking pixels, and fingerprinting.

HTTP cookies are data that collects and sends tracking information from your visitor's web browser to your analytics platform. These are the main source of data you receive when tracking who visited your website.

Tracking pixels are a snippet of HTML code that marketers can embed into outbound emails to track whether you open an email, click on a link within the email, and follows your journey all the way through to becoming a customer.

Fingerprinting takes the premise of a cookie and extends it over a longer period, creating a "digital fingerprint" of your audience.

Websites use various tools and methods to gather insights about your behavior and preferences on the web, including tracking IP addresses, which gives us a wealth of data about our website visitors.

Here are the six common types of data that online trackers collect:

Browser fingerprinting is a relatively new technique that allows websites to identify unique visitors via their web browsers, collecting data like device model, screen resolution, operating system, and preferred language.

Cookies and tracking are closely related. Websites use cookies to track your data for the duration of your visit. Cookies can store information like the time you spend on a page and other pages you click to. They can even track whether you make a purchase.

A cookie is code used to track, personalize, and save information about each user's session. It's stored in a file located in your web browser. You've probably seen websites asking you to accept their cookies before you continue browsing a site.

You can control whether or not a company can access certain types of your personal data. For example, if a site or app wants you to share your location, they'll ask, and you can say no. So can websites track your location? Not if you don't share it in the first place.

Some websites allow you to download the data they have on you. Try downloading your Google data to see just how much of your personal life you're exposing on the internet. Your data is extremely valuable, and companies want to learn as much about you as they can.

Here are six common types of data that online trackers collect:

A tracking pixel is a snippet of HTML code that marketers can embed into outbound emails. This pixel tracks whether you open an email, click on a link within the email, and follows your journey all the way through to becoming a customer.

Companies want to learn as much about you as they can, and your data is extremely valuable. They use a variety of tools and methods to gather insights about your behavior and preferences on the web.

You can control whether or not a company can access certain types of your personal data. For example, if a site or app wants you to share your location, they'll ask, and you can say no. But in general, if you aren't already using dedicated anti-tracking tools, you don't have any sort of guarantee of privacy on the internet.

Some websites track you in a bunch of different ways, including mouse tracking, eye tracking, click tracking, etc. The most common methods of website tracking include HTTP cookies, tracking pixels, and fingerprinting. These tools collect data points about your browsing activity and interests, including the pages you visit, where you scroll, and the links and images that you click on.

Here are six common types of data that online trackers collect:

GDPR is a set of rules designed to protect people's personal information, giving individuals more control over their data and requiring website owners to be transparent about how they track users.

Under GDPR, websites must clearly explain how they track users and give them the option to say no to being tracked. This means no more surprise cookies or tracking technologies without permission.

Websites need to provide a notice to users about their tracking practices and make it easy for users to opt out if they don’t want to be tracked. It’s also important for websites to keep records of users’ consent and explain how they use the data they collect.

GDPR applies to every business dealing with data within the EU, regardless of where the business is based. This means that even if you’re based in the US, you must cater to any EU visitors.

You can use a cookie notification to let every visitor grant or deny consent. Legitimate interest is not defined in the GDPR document, so make sure you only use website tracking for ethical and genuine reasons.

Here are the five main ways website tracks users:

To ensure your website tracking complies with GDPR, you can take the following measures:

1. If your site doesn’t collect personal data nor use cookies or contact forms, you don’t need to do anything.

2. If your site does collect data, it must be for a “legitimate interest” and the visitor must be able to grant or deny consent.

GDPR data minimization is also essential, as it helps with compliance, builds trust, and strengthens data security.

Companies like Google, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and many others track your internet activity, collecting valuable data about you. This data is used to tailor their apps to your preferences and target you with ads.

You can control whether a company accesses your personal data, such as your location, by saying no when asked. However, if you don't use dedicated anti-tracking tools, you don't have a guarantee of online privacy.

Private browsers like Brave, Mozilla Firefox, and DuckDuckGo offer strong ad blockers and browser fingerprinting protection, preventing information about your online activity from being collected in the background.

To use a private browser, choose a reputable one, adjust the privacy settings, and consider using additional tools like virtual private networks (VPNs) and anti-tracking extensions.

Some websites still collect and use your browsing data even if you enable Google's "Do Not Track" feature, which sends a request to websites asking them not to collect or track your data.

Here are some ways to stop or reduce online tracking:

By using a VPN and adopting good practices around what you share on social media, you can reduce the risk of a hack. However, a comprehensive digital security provider like Aura can offer additional protection, including identity theft and credit protection, anti-track and ad blockers, and AI-powered spam blocking.

The implications of internet browser tracking are quite alarming. It can lead to a unique online fingerprint that allows advertisers and companies to identify you, along with your likes, dislikes, personal traits, and neuroses.

This online fingerprint can be used to spam you with targeted ad campaigns that follow you around the web, attempting to trigger your every subconscious desire. It's like having a personal shopper who knows your every move.

Companies can also use this information to jack up their prices on you, because they know you live in a wealthier state or city. I've noticed this happening myself, where I get targeted ads for products that are way out of my budget.

Your data could get leaked to fraudsters and scammers, who can use it for scams and identity theft. This is a huge risk, especially if there's a data breach.

Here are some of the potential risks of internet browser tracking:

Government agencies could also share your data between countries, which poses several potential risks to your privacy, including national security concerns and human rights violations. This is a serious issue that affects us all.

Your online reputation could be damaged if your image is compromised in any way by tracking or related data leaks. This can impact your life or business, and it's not something to be taken lightly.

Overall, the implications of internet browser tracking are serious and far-reaching. It's essential to be aware of these risks and take steps to protect yourself online.

You can prevent web tracking on your own, regardless of where you live.

To block tracking cookies and beacons, you can use anti-tracking software or secure browsers like Avast Secure Browser, which provides comprehensive protection from threats to your data.

Avast AntiTrack is a powerful tool that prevents advertisers and web trackers from following you around the web.

To track website users legally, you should use a secure connection when tracking, collecting, and transferring data, and ensure you have a legitimate and reasonable purpose for tracking.

Here are the key requirements to follow:

You can also try using ad blockers and anti-track tools, or try a data privacy-focused browser to stop being tracked online.

Here are ten best practices to stop (or at least reduce) your exposure to online tracking:

You can block cookies and prevent web tracking with specialized anti-tracking software like AVG AntiTrack for PC or Mac.

AVG AntiTrack finds and blocks trackers, including cookies and beacons, showing you which websites are tracking you and with what type of technology.

A secure browser like Avast Secure Browser can outfit you with anti-tracking protection built right in.

Avast Secure Browser blocks ads and web tracking, and its built-in encryption and anti-phishing technology strengthen your online security.

Private browsers like Brave, Mozilla Firefox, and Tor can counter data collection through browser fingerprinting protection.

Some of the best privacy-focused browsers include Brave, Mozilla Firefox, DuckDuckGo, Safari, and Tor.