Internet ads are so invasive that we can’t blame you for thinking that Facebook is listening to you talk. It’s probably not, but it is helping ad networks track you across the internet and across your apps. In 2018, tech public policy expert Chris Yiu tweeted 14 different ways that ads follow you around the internet, even when you’re logged out, in incognito, using a different browser, or on a new device.
Ever wondered *how* those adverts manage to keep on finding you – even when you go incognito, switch devices, or never actually searched for the product in the first place? Let us count the (many, many) ways [THREAD]
— Chris Yiu (@clry2) June 7, 2018
One important one is Facebook’s trackers, which are embedded on any site that integrates Facebook “like” buttons, Facebook page widgets, or other social tools:
You’re logged in to Facebook. You visit a website and it has Facebook’s tracking pixel (or Like button) installed, which lets Facebook know you’re there. Later on you visit Facebook, and your newsfeed contains adverts based on what you were looking at earlier
— Chris Yiu (@clry2) June 7, 2018
Yiu’s list includes a few ways to minimise personalisation. For example, you can reset your phone’s unique identifier:
N.B. Apple, Android and Windows mobile devices all let you disable or reset your device ID. This won’t stop you seeing ads, but it will reduce the amount of personalisation that can follow you from one app to another
— Chris Yiu (@clry2) June 7, 2018
Unfortunately, you can’t control all tracking”Facebook and Google can collect data on you even if you don’t have an account, by scooping up your friends’ phone contacts or by logging usual browser data.
This is the kind of invasive tracking and data collection that prompted the European Union to enact GDPR. So all those “we’ve changed our privacy policy” emails are a good sign”or at least a good start.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/12/your-anonymous-browsing-data-is-not-very-anonymous/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/08/incognito-mode-410×231.jpg” title=”Reminder: ‘Incognito Mode’ Is Not As Private As You Think” excerpt=”Even when you’re covering your tracks by opening a new incognito window, your web browsing history might not be as private as you think. Information about what you do online, down to every single URL, can likely be purchased on the web by anyone who wants it. And while in most cases people are making those purchases for marketing reasons, they could choose to use their newfound knowledge maliciously as well.”]
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