How Private Is Your Search History?
We are in unprecedented times concerning how much information we have available for ourselves and others to track. With the advent of powerful search engines to help us navigate our daily questions, we’ve left behind a breadcrumb trail of data for companies and advertisers to harvest.
The vast treasure troves of information that companies use to glean into our buying decisions, motivations, and desires contain more than just simple searches. These glimpses into our online presence are typically used for advertising purposes, which doesn’t sit well with some people. Despite the seemingly benign nature of the information shared and collected by companies and advertisers, that information was likely intended to be private in many circumstances.
Some people find this kind of tracking to be intrusive and are taking steps to counteract data collection in their private search histories.
Many are opting to use a verified personal network (VPN), like the one OmniWatch is adding, to shield their searches from the prying eyes of advertisers.
“We’ve found that 49.25% of our active users have had their browsing history data tracked and recorded at some point,” says Kit Fach, Product Manager for OmniWatch. “Most people don’t know they’re being tracked so meticulously for advertising purposes, and we’ve found that they don’t like the idea of companies buying and selling their private search information.”
Websites may track your online activity through pixels or cookies. These cookies can share information about your search history through first-party tracking or third-party tracking. First-party means that the site you are on is tracking you and third-party tracking means that the site you are on allows another company to track your activities.
According to the FTC, third-party tracking companies can track you across most of the websites you visit. This kind of tracking allows advertisers to serve targeted ads to users based on their interests and online activity.
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How to Reduce Search History Tracking
A VPN is one of the most popular ways to mitigate tracking, here is a list of the ways the FTC recommends safeguarding your search history:
VPN - A verified personal network or VPN is one of the best ways to prevent your search history from being tracked by advertisers. VPNs are gaining in popularity with people who want more privacy in their searches. While there are many options available, not all VPNs are created equal. The OmniWatch VPN has added features that many others don’t offer. With OmniWatch, you’ll get protection from hacking attacks on public Wi-Fi networks and a malicious website auto-blocking feature.
Delete your search history - Deleting cookies and clearing your browser’s search history is recommended on both your phone and other devices to prevent further tracking.
Update your privacy settings - Each browser has different settings that you can update to your preferences for tracking. You’ll want to update the settings on all of your devices to make sure you’ve updated all areas of tracking. This includes updating your TV, streaming devices, social media accounts, and other apps. This helpful link to the FTC guide on how to manage your settings in a variety of different browsers should be able to assist you in these updates.
Ad blockers - Ad blockers help block pixels and other tracking cookies from displaying in your browser. The big drawback with ad blocking is that it doesn’t block all ads. Blockers also won’t detect or block malware and other viruses that could be harmful to your computer.
Opt out of ads - Opting out of personalized ads can help prevent some tracking, but it can be tedious to opt out of every ad presented to you. There are specialized advertising industry tools that help you opt out of many of the ways companies track your history. Try these tools to opt out of tracking:
If you take all of the FTC's recommended steps, you’ll likely find fewer targeted ads while perusing the internet. For more information about the OmniWatch VPN and other features that can help protect your private data, click here.
What Cybersecurity Professionals are Saying
Chester Wisniewski
Principal Research Scientist at Sophos
“Looking forward into 2023 has me very concerned with what developments we see with the malicious use of machine learning technologies”
Matt Kapko
Cybersecurity Reporter
"Threat actors don’t just follow the news — they react to it and identify new ways to target potential victims during moments of heightened sensitivity."
Chester Wisniewski
Principal Research Scientist at Sophos
"ChatGPT3 could easily be weaponized to help criminals write more convincing phishing and business email compromise scams."