It knows who you are By Gavin Pierce

Apps and Websites have many ways of tracking who YOU are

Why would they want to know who I am?

Companies want to know who you are because they have the best interest for me, right? Nope, when a website tracks you they are trying to find out who you are and what you like.

Isn't that a good thing?

Not in most cases when a company knows who you are, they use that to their advantage. Many apps and websites want to keep you there as long as possible or send you to another website through ads.

It all roots down to your wallet

According to Datapods, your data is worth $263 a year to large companies such as Meta and Google.

Fingerprinting

Just like in real life, your digital fingerprint can be used to track exactly who you are. Your browser is required to provide your essential information to the website to ensure you're able to use it. While this seems innocent, it can be used against you as 83.6% of these essential informations are unique.

"These pieces of information could include device model and spec, language and keyboard layout, location, time zone, installed hardware, software versions, and much more. Individually, these settings and configurations might seem innocuous – and they are. But when put together, they can create a unique combination or ‘fingerprint’." - Smartframe

What do they do with my fingerprint?

Whilst fingerprinting was originally designed for your protection, it has been flipped to be used against you. Formerly used to stop bots and scammers from using one device to harass others for their money, it is now used to sell your specific data to data brokers who will sell it to companies.

According to Statista, 732.89 billion US dollars were spent on advertising if they know they can find out exactly who someone is using their fingerprint, they will always try to take that information.

Mmm... Cookie

A cookie for a website is much different than something your mom freshly baked

When you say yes to cookie's you're permitting the website to remember who you are and what you have done on their website and others. Why does this matter to me?

• Hold your data
• Websites now know who you are and what ads to show you to take your money
• When you leave it continues to track you allowing it to know what you do
• Imposes threats to your personal accounts and shopping carts

You get to log in faster to the website at least it only cost your browser history!

According to a 2017 Australian privacy survey, 32% of people thought online services were the biggest threat to their privacy. Don't just give away your information for free because cookies sound nice it's not worth the website loading faster, especially if you'll never visit again.

Not all cookies are bad.

First-party cookies are typically safe.

First-party cookies were made by the website itself that you are using. These cookies are typically needed for the website to work and will, in general, be safe as long as you are using a trustworthy website that has not been hit by a data breach.

Some cookies are necessary for a website to function. Some first-party cookies are essential for the website to function as they hold your login credentials.

Third-party cookies not so much.

When you are warned about cookie's they are usually referring to the third-party kind, as they allow other websites and companies to have access to the data that you're giving to the website you're currently on. Luckily, due to new laws, most of these cookies are optional when you enter a website but don't let yourself mix it up with first-party.

Zombie Cookies

These are the most dangerous kinds of surveillance a cookie can do. they get their name from their distinct ability to reappear after they've been deleted. These types of cookies are extremely difficult to get rid of and, due to that, are often used by websites to ban someone or to continue to track users without their knowledge.

How do I check if I have cookies using my browser?

"Web browsers store cookies in a designated file on users' devices. The Google Chrome web browser, for instance, stores all cookies in a file labeled "Cookies." Chrome users can view the cookies stored by the browser by opening developer tools, clicking the "Application" tab, and clicking on "Cookies" in the left side menu." - Cloudflare

How do I protect myself?

There will never be ways to fully protect yourself but to minimize damage

• Read everything you accept
• Limit yourself to websites that are trustworthy when you can
• Delete your search history
• Delete your cookies
• Don't leave everything you want in your shopping cart
• Using a VPN