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Internet Safety - Understanding Browser Tracking Back to Tutorial

Understanding browser tracking

Whenever you use the Internet, you leave a record of the websites you visit, along with
each and every thing you click. To track this information, many websites save a small
piece of data—known as a cookie—to your web browser. In addition to cookies, many
websites can use your user accounts to track browsing activity. While this type of
browser tracking doesn't pose a serious risk to your online security, it's important to
understand how your online data is tracked and used.

Watch the video below to learn more about browser tracking.

Understanding Digital Tracking

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Why do websites track browsing activity?

There are many reasons a website might track your browsing activity. In some cases, it's
simply to make your browsing experience faster and more convenient. But this data can
also be used to determine your browsing habits and preferences—information that is
frequently used by advertisers in determining what ads to show you online. Here are a
few common examples of when a website might track your online activity.

▶ Video sites like YouTube and Netflix collect information on the videos you
 ▶ Video sites like YouTube and Netflix collect information on the videos you
watch, which helps them suggest more videos you might like.

▶ Online stores like Amazon and eBay keep a record of the di몭erent items
you view and purchase, which helps them suggest other products you may
want to buy.

▶ Search engines like Google keep a record of the things you search for. This
can help them suggest more relevant searches, but it can also be used for
advertising purposes. For example, if you search for a co몭eemaker on
Google, you might see ads for co몭eemakers on other websites in the future.

How do cookies work?

Cookies can store specific information on the websites you visit and the things you click
on di몭erent sites. If you don't have an account on a particular site, this information is
typically saved in a cookie to your web browser. For example, a news website might use
cookies to see if you've previously visited its site—and what articles you read on your
last visit—so it can suggest more articles based on your previous choices.

Watch this video from Adversitement to learn more about cookies and how
they work.

What is a cookie?
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Should I be worried about cookies?

Generally speaking, cookies don't pose a serious risk to your online security—you're
unlikely to acquire malware or expose sensitive financial information by using cookies.
Still, if you don't like the idea of websites collecting information about you this way,
there are options for limiting cookie tracking on your computer.

How to avoid cookie tracking

There are a few di몭erent ways to avoid cookie tracking. Some websites actually give you
the option to disable cookie tracking on their site, although this may also disable
certain site features.

If you want to opt out of cookies entirely, you could try enabling the Do Not Track
setting in your browser. Most web browsers disable this feature by default, but it can
usually be activated from the privacy settings.

Note that participation in the Do Not Track program is voluntary, so some sites may not
honor this request. If you'd prefer to avoid cookies altogether, you could use a private
browsing mode whenever you go online. This will prevent any cookies from being
saved to your web browser.
 Private browsing mode won't protect against every kind of browser
tracking. To learn more, check out our lesson on Browsing Privately.

Account tracking
Even if you never allow websites to store cookies, there are other ways your browsing
habits can be tracked. For example, when you create an account with a site like
Facebook or Google, you're also giving them permission to track and save information
on your activity. Instead of saving this information in a cookie, it's stored by the
company and associated with your account.

In many cases, this information is then provided to third-party advertisers, who can use
this information to deliver personalized ads across the Internet. And while you can
usually disable these tracking settings, they will be enabled by default.

Check out our lessons on Adjusting Your Facebook Privacy Settings and
Understanding Google Privacy to learn more about controlling the
information you share with these service providers.

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