How Companies Track You & What You Can Do About It

Nearly everything we do online is tracked. Here is a list of ways you’re being tracked.
Companies collect massive amounts of personal data from you. This will be shaping advertising and content recommendations. In some ways data collection should be able to enhance user experiences, but it also raises privacy concerns. People often don’t realize how much of their information is being monitored and shared.

The Internet Knows More About You Than Your Best Friend – Here’s How to Push Back

You ever wonder why that pair of shoes you glanced at for three seconds follows you around like a lost puppy? That’s tracking. And it’s happening in ways most of us don’t even think about. Websites, apps, social media – they’re all quietly piecing together a digital profile of you, sometimes with details you didn’t even know you were giving away.

Take cookies, for example. Some of them are helpful like remembering your login info or keeping your shopping cart intact. But then there are others like third-party cookies. These are often the ones responsible to enable tracking across different sites. They help serve up ads based on your browsing habits.

Then there’s location tracking, which is sneakier than you might think. Some apps are watching where you go even when you’re not using them (yeah, unsettling). Ever walked into a store and suddenly gotten an oddly specific coupon? That’s geofencing at work – retailers mapping your movements and nudging you toward a purchase. Even your IP address gives companies a general idea of where you are. It’s not precise, but it’s enough to make you feel a little exposed.

So what do you do? First, take control where you can. Incognito mode isn’t perfect, but it helps. Blocking trackers with privacy extensions like Ghostery or Privacy Badger can also slow down the digital snooping. And for the love of all things private, check your app permissions – does that weather app really need 24/7 access to your location?

At the end of the day, perfect online privacy is an uphill battle. But making small adjustments puts some of the power back in your hands – and that’s always worth it.