Tech giants — be they social media platforms like the Meta-owned ones or any other streaming or entertainment ones — gather tremendous amount of data by keeping a track of you and your personal whereabouts.
Ever wondered how your personal data can be exploited and how much money these tech companies mint by selling this? You may have not, but since you're living in an extemely digitalised era where you're being tracked down all the time just to provide advertisers with tons of data so they can land their marketing campaigns on specifically targeted audiences.
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Be wary and say no to such tech companies and the non consensual extraction of data, or data theft, committed by them. This article will provide and walk you through a simple guide on how you can solidify your personal data privacy.
Easiest way to stop websites tracking you online
Although you can save yourself from being surveilled online by tech companies using various anti tracking browsers and other hacks, but we'll only reflect on some of the best VPNs and browser extensions you can install in your devices to evade the play of being tracked online.
Anti tracking browser extensions
Ghostery
- Ghostery is a browser extension that can identify the source and purpose of trackers, but it lacks features like pop-up notifications and script organisation. For having conflict with PageScanner, it's recommended to use it reactively to address identified threats.
- Ghostery is available both as a browser extension and a standalone browser, and it includes a privacy-focused search engine that can be accessed through the extension or its own website.
uBlock Origin
- uBlock Origin is a powerful open-source ad blocker with advanced blocking capabilities. It offers precise control, customisable block lists, and efficient ad/element blocking.
- While it may require more setup, uBlock Origin provides the most comprehensive ad-blocking solution among the alternatives mentioned.
Privacy Badger
- Privacy Badger is an open-source browser extension focused on tracker blocking, rather than ad blocking. It doesn't provide detailed information on tracking methods, but learns to block trackers over time.
- Users can choose between automatic tracker updates or local learning, which can improve protection but increase identifiability. Privacy Badger is available for Chromium and Firefox browsers, with local learning toggled via the Options page.