online privacy has always been a concern in today's digital age. Most people are probably unaware that their online activities are monitored from the buttons and ads that click on their purchases and meetings online habits Let's get one thing straight first :. Almost anything you do or enter online is not private. is scary when you think about it, but people are analyzing and studying your online behavior with the help of cookies.
What are cookies?
no, we're not talking about your favorite snack. Putting aside the technical jargon, cookies were originally designed to help your computer remember your online activities. For example, when you connect to a particular website, a cookie will tell your computer that you have already connected when you close your window and open a new one, you stay connected to your account. However, cookies can also be used to keep track buttons, ads and links you click. This, in turn, can be used to follow the model of your online behavior.
What information is collected and tracked?
You might be surprised, but the reality is that almost all the information you put out there can be tracked using cookies. This includes personal information such as your location, zip code, ethnicity, personal finance, religious beliefs, health issues, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, travel plans, and even your taste in movies and music. These cookies can also keep track of pages you open, part of the pages you have browsed, how long you were on these pages, the exact buttons were open, etc.
All this is done with one goal in mind: .. targeted advertising by having all the information mentioned above and more, advertisers can target their ads specifically the cheap, which in turn significantly increase revenues
just take a look at Staples and Target, which are good examples of online stores that can track your information and the activity and then use it to their advantage. Staples confirmed they adjust prices found on their online store based on the customer's location. If the location of a customer happens to be near an area where a competitor is nearby, they offer a lower price to this customer. As for the target, they make use of your purchasing and viewing habits to suggest other items that are similar in nature. For example, if you are constantly buying maternity clothes, they can infer that you are pregnant. Using this information about you, they also recommend other items that might be useful for a pregnant woman.
Did you know that your favorite search engines and social media are also tracking your information?
Search engines like Google keep a record of all your research. This will definitely help Google in their advertising campaign because they already have an idea on what you usually find. For example, if you are regularly looking for a math tutor in your county using Google, you'll often see advertising links for tutors in mathematics above the search results. Google made a profit of those ad placements and once you click the link, you are putting money directly into their pockets.
If you think that your social media accounts are off the hook, think again. They also follow your activities and behavior through the "social media plugins" as their "Like, '' Share 'and' Send 'button. By having an idea of what you normally" like "Facebook will strategically select . ads that appear on your Facebook page, you can try to check it by yourself - compare small advertising links found on your account and your friends They will probably differ because of the difference in your activities in Facebook the same.. goes for Twitter, where your "tweets" on certain subjects show clues to your preferences.
Who's tracking your online behavior?
Apart Apart from the above mentioned companies, there is a larger group of people who are really focused on tracking your online activities: data brokers They collect and analyze data on consumers and possibly the. sale to third parties. Basically what they do is the profile of your activities and behavior. Do not worry though - your name will not be there, but rather a specific identifier that they use to adapt to consumers in certain categories that fit the need of the third part. This information is usually sold to marketers and advertisers for a hefty price. This is why the industry has become a business of billions of dollars to several large companies to pay top dollar to go directly to their target market.
Just take a look at Dataium, a company that focuses on consumer tracking in the market for a car. According to them, they provide dealers with an analysis of your interests and preferences when it comes to a car, so that dealers can get a good idea of what you want. Your name will not be there, of course, but your unique ID will help online retailers to target you with the right offers.
Essentially, our online business as consumers are constantly monitored by a large number of different companies. This is why we must be careful with the posting of information. Some people might say that targeted advertising can also be good because it helps you find what you're in the market for; However, many are extremely concerned about the depth and the amount of information that is collected about them. Even if your real name is not released, you are still be represented by a unique ID that knows everything about you.
How can you prevent tracking online?
Step 1: Get a VPN
Step 2 :. Change cookie settings
Firefox
to do this, go to Change > Preferences > privacy . Under " History ", choose the menu " Use custom settings for history ." Under " Accept cookies ", uncheck " Accept third -Party the cookies" and just below, select " hold to close Firefox "
Chrome
to do this, locate the Chrome settings menu, which should be hamburger icon at the top right of your browser. from this menu, go to " settings ," scroll down and click on " Show advanced settings . " Under " privacy ," click " Content Settings " Select " Keep local data only until I quit my browser / for the current session , "and check" Block third-party cookies and site data :. "
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