When you use your phone or computer, do you ever feel like someone's listening in on your conversations?
Or, maybe multiple someones?
Consider this scenario: you're talking to someone on your smartphone and you mention a specific product in the conversation, like scented candles. Minutes later, you open a social media app and find an advertisement for Goose Creek staring you in the face, tempting you to click on it with a 60% off deal on their Maple Butter triple-wick.
Does that sound familiar?
According to NORDVPN, A social media site has 160 trackers active on average to record its users' activity, while the average website in general has 48 trackers.
These trackers are used by website companies to keep an eye on what a person does online, and collect data that they can use to send personalized advertisements to their device based on their individual portfolio.
What tracking methods do websites use to collect our data?
- Cookies: This is the most common method of tracking, which comes in the form of short lines of code that catch whatever data you can give them and store it all in your browser cache. They're persistent, capable of following you wherever you browse after they first catch sight of you. First-party cookies track you only on a specific website, while third-party cookies can spring up from sites you're not currently looking at, or even from websites you've never been on.
- Tracking pixels: Also known as tags and web beacons, these 1 X 1 pixel images can be stuck onto individual webpages or emails, and can tell whether a person has opened them. Upon a user's opening the content, the tag activates, grabbing vital user information and sending it directly to the company the content belonged to. Because the tag is so tiny, it can be very difficult to detect.
- Tracking links: Links to websites can be modified with small bits of code, very similar to cookies, which can send your data to the company who made the web address. It doesn't just do this after you click on the offending link, though -- it can continue to record what you do on the site on subsequent visits, even if you access the site in a different way.
- Browser fingerprinting: One particularly nefarious form of tracking is when a company builds a unique "fingerprint" for each user it comes across, based on data about the actual hardware and software they're using. Everything from the way your physical computer is set up, to your operating system, to the plugins you have installed is used to make an individual portfolio about you, enabling companies to keep a closer eye on how you use the internet and tailoring ads to be even more specific to you.
Do our devices really listen to our Phone conversations to give us targeted ads?
While it's generally brushed off as an outlandish rumor, there has been a recent study that suggests that companies do record audio of people's voices to figure out which ads to send them.
David López-López from Esade conducted a study in which subjects got into three-person groups, and each of which held a ten-minute conversation within a one-meter range of a smartphone with its microphone switched on. The topics of conversation were focused on plans to travel to different parts of the world. After their conversations were done, the people in the test groups were tasked with checking their social media to watch for ads that were related to the locations they discussed, and screenshot the ads if they found any.
Everyone involved in the conversations found at least one ad related to tourism to the area they talked about within five days of the experiment. Instagram yielded the most targeted ads -- 69 for all people combined -- with X and Facebook close behind. The topics of the ads included destinations, places guests could stay for a night, and means of transportation within the discussed countries.
This discovery suggests that social media companies may be listening to more than they let on to gather information for ads targeted toward you.
Do trackers give users any benefits? Do they outweigh the breach of privacy?
While trackers do give you some benefits as they collect data on you -- such as information about sales at stores in your area, local weather reports sent to you in a near-instant, and improving services you use -- it's hardly worth the potential risks.
- You could have your search history involuntarily shown to other people through the content of the personalized ads you get.
- Your data could be left vulnerable to people who want to steal your identity, or use your information for scams.
- You could get stuck in a continuous loop of clicking ads and scrolling through their associated shop websites, which can be a significant drain on your time, and potentially your money if you buy things from those sites.
- If your private information gets leaked, your presence on social media may be compromised.
- Potential patrons and employers could turn you away if they find leaked information about you they consider unprofessional or unappealing.
DO ad-blockers work to combat ad-trackers?
Ad-blocking browser extensions, such as Privacy Badger and uBlock Origin, can help to combat against trackers to a certain extent. They can disable tag managers and prevent them from sending a wave of trackers to your device, blocking analytics and attribution tools that may be used for data collection, and prevents prying scripts from loading at the level of the JavaScript request. However, it's advisable to exercise caution when picking out an ad-blocker for security purposes, as there are also many scam programs that can compromise your security instead.
What about antivirus software?
Many antivirus companies are working on software that's specifically dedicated to warding off ad-trackers, although they don't necessarily come pre-packaged in their normal antivirus apps. One antivirus company, Malwarebytes, has created its own multi-purpose browser extension that can block third-party trackers, as well as removing ads from the page you're viewing. The company also keeps a database of websites that are compromised frequently, and gives you the option to block them, which can provide even more protection against data collectors. Other companies that have made these kinds of tools include Avast and AVG.
How can we make our web activity more private?
- Use a secure browser: Internet browsers like Brave and Firefox are more private than most browsers. The volunteer-run Tor is a special case, because it encrypts the data you send to the browser and relocates it to one of many servers around the world, which keeps it safe from companies trying to link it to you. While some actions are still risky on Tor, such as downloading files, your experience with the browser will be secure as long as you employ the proper level of caution.
- Use a VPN as a supplement: A virtual private network can obscure your IP address from nosy companies, as well ask masking where you're from.
- Use private browsing windows: While somewhat limited, using a private browser in your browser can offer a little bit of protection. Their major pitfall is that data from a session you had in a closed incognito window could still be vulnerable to tracking, so when you're done, you should fully close the app to avoid keeping that residual information around.
- Use a secure email: Because discreet trackers can be wedged into emails, it may be a good idea to change your email provider. ProtonMail and Tutanota encrypt the emails you send to people so they can't be scoured for data, don't require you to enter any personal information to use their services, and don't log your IP address.
- Disable trackers within your browser: Some browsers like Google have a "Do Not Track" feature tucked away in their settings, which sends an automatic requests to websites upon visiting them to prevent tracking. Make sure this option is switched on for an extra layer of protection.
- Keep your software up to date: Installing the latest versions of the software you use can enhance your security by adding new features that can keep your data safe, staying one step ahead of people trying to exploit vulnerabilities present in an older version, and fixing imperfections in the software's code that could make it easy for trackers to nab your data.
- Utilize encrypted messaging for text conversations: Some text messaging apps use end-to-end encryption, which hides messages from prying eyes throughout the process of sending them from one texter to the other. Even if the data is leaked, it will present itself as garbled nonsense so whoever cracked the messages can't read it. You can also use disappearing message features and other security measures to keep your conversations confidential.
- Change the settings for individual social media apps: If you have a lot of social media apps on your phone, check each individual app's settings to look for ways to block trackers. Don't forget to turn off personalized ads, as leaving them on leaves you vulnerable to having your data collected for commercial reasons.
Sources Cited
- https://www.adfixus.com/post/13-effective-strategies-to-minimize-online-data-tracking
- https://www.adtoniq.io/blog/do-ad-blockers-protect-your-privacy-yes-sometimes#:~:text=The%20most%20reputable%20ad%20blockers,of%20tracking%20scripts%20are%20blocked.
- https://allaboutcookies.org/internet-tracking-how-to-stay-anonymous
- https://aura.com/learn/what-are-trackers
- https://www.avast.com/c-what-is-ad-tracking#:~:text=Ad%20tracking%20happens%20when%20companies,you%20more%20relevant%2C%20targeted%20ads.
- https://www.avast.com/en-us/antitrack#pc
- https://www.avg.com/en-ww/antitrack#pc
- https://dobetter.esade.edu/en/phone-listening-personalized-ads#:~:text=Mobile%20devices%2C%20the%20researchers%20conclude,person%20wants%20or%20has%20done.
- https://itwire.com/business-it-news/security/nordvpn-research-finds-websites-have-48-trackers-on-average,-social-media-sites-have-160.html
- https://new.express.adobe.com/
- https://www.techradar.com/features/malwarebytes-browser-guard
- https://unsplash.com/photos/white-and-gray-security-camera-mounted-on-yellow-painted-wall-cT7IeEz5-G8