Each of your actions on the internet leaves behind a digital footprint. Blessed bread to track you and target you with advertisements. Fortunately, there are a few tips to combat this tracking.
A simple search to discover this new smartphone that is all the rage and you will be invaded for several weeks with promotions of all kinds on mobiles and packages. Annoying certainly, but above all disturbing.
Even if targeted advertising is no longer surprising, shouldn't we defend ourselves against it to further protect our confidentiality and personal data? A look back at the main tracking methods, which extend well beyond simple cookies, and the simplest ways to counter them.
Cookies: the quintessence of targeted advertising
Advertising on the internet has a cost and advertisers need to know that they are reaching people who are likely to be interested in their product or service. They therefore seek to collect as much information as possible about Internet users.
To achieve this, companies specializing in web marketing use cookies. These files are specially designed to identify and recognize you on each visit, as well as to collect your browsing data. They are omnipresent on the web.
Some of them are limited to observing your behavior on the site in question in order to improve it, make it more efficient and more attractive. We then speak of internal cookies.
Others, called third-party cookies, are used primarily for targeted advertising. These trackers do not just collect technical data such as the type of device, the operating system, the browser used, as well as the IP address. They collect a whole series of precise information such as your location, your age, your gender, your interests, and your browsing habits.
This whole procedure is perfectly legal, as long as you allow them to do so. Hence the famous banner inviting you to accept cookies when opening a website. If you give your green light, a wealth of tracking data is then collected and then used by third parties to run targeted advertising campaigns.
The risks linked to these cookies
Cookies are in no way malware and do not present any major risk. However, by allowing all websites to massively collect your personal data, your confidentiality is compromised and your browsing habits, even if they are not personal, are at the mercy of advertisers and hackers.
This is without taking into account the annoying aspect of these unwanted advertisements. Far from appearing only on your devices, they can also appear on those of other members of the household. Nothing worse than letting slip clues about a future birthday present.
For all these reasons, it is preferable to limit the collection of third-party cookies to the strict minimum. In addition to refusing them in the notification pane provided for this purpose, it is essential to configure your browsers so that they block them automatically, without forgetting to delete cookies and clear the cache.
Other tracking methods: more insidious than cookies
If cookies remain the operating method favored by brands to know as much as possible about you, other tools exist, with often more serious consequences for the confidentiality of your data.
Les supercookies
Although their name may be confusing, supercookies are technically not cookies and cannot be disabled simply by clicking “refuse” on the GDPR panel. They are not attached to a browser, but are installed by internet service providers (ISPs) in an HTTP header (without the “s” and therefore not secure).
For security and confidentiality reasons, ban insecure URLs // Source: Linkedin sales solution via Unsplash
These devices uniquely identify you and collect all your browsing history and habits across all the sites you visit. So, you can switch from Chrome to Safari or even DuckDuckGo, and even delete cookies and the cache, they remain active whatever happens. The only way to protect yourself from this is to block all unsecured sites, therefore starting with “http://” and not “https://”.
Theoretically, their use is legal, as long as user consent is obtained. However, supercookies are by definition invisible and complaints are therefore rare. However, ISPs are sometimes uncovered, like the American Verizon, fined $1.35 million in 2016 by the Federal Communications Commission. The problem lies not so much in this abusive collection by an ISP, but in the risk of this data being breached by hackers.
Zombie cookies
Although they function similarly to traditional cookies, zombie cookies are more malicious and dangerous because they are automatically reactivated without your knowledge.
You can deactivate them, delete them, clear the cache and even optimize all the privacy settings of your different programs, nothing helps. Like malware, however, they can be thwarted by a cybersecurity tool and a VPN.
IP address
Recognizing and tracking you via your IP address is probably one of the most common methods after cookies. To overcome this type of tracking, the easiest way is to rely on a VPN, the central functionality of which is to hide it and guarantee your confidentiality.
Pixels and social networks
Very practical for knowing if the recipient of a promotional email has opened it, this technique is also very widespread in the context of advertising campaigns carried out via social networks.
Stop giving Facebook the means to share your personal data // Source: Thought Catalog via Unsplash
Meta therefore offers companies the opportunity to place this piece of code on their relevant website in order to better target their audience. By definition, the tech giant has massive information on its users, much more than cookies and pixels can provide.
Therefore, the more complete your profile is on social networks and the more active you are there, the more likely you are to fall victim to targeted advertising. Fortunately, it is possible to limit the latter by deactivating it from Meta's privacy settings. In addition, you should avoid as much as possible connecting to websites using your Facebook account, in order to reduce the sharing of information between Meta and advertisers.
Personal accounts and unique identifiers
Unique identifiers such as email address and mobile number are often used to identify and then track Internet users. These two elements being most of the time required to create a personal space, the cross-checking of information is facilitated.
This is all the more true if the Internet user uses their Google, Facebook, or Instagram account to identify themselves. Certainly this method of authentication is practical, but it further opens the way to targeted advertising.
Forget Google, Facebook and Instagram to connect to a customer area // Source: firmbee com via Unsplash
To counter this tracking practice, the simplest thing is to create aliases for each personal account, and when possible, connect in guest mode. And if you have an Apple terminal, the “Hide My Email” feature allows you to keep your email address secret during the registration process.
In addition, it is recommended to modify the confidentiality settings for each online account in order to prohibit the collection of data for marketing purposes and the transmission of your information to third parties.
Apps and the smartphone
While it is essential to be careful when browsing online, you must not forget to optimize confidentiality on your smartphone and on all installed applications.
Don't ignore your app's privacy policy to limit targeted advertising // Source: James Yarema via Unsplash
On this point, it is important to disable the permissions granted to applications as much as possible. To work, a photo editing utility, for example, does not need access to your geolocation and your microphone.
In order to limit the risk of breaches and therefore malware, sources of abusive collection of your data, you must also ensure that your applications and your smartphone are kept up to date.
Future developments
Digital marketing is constantly evolving and Google, like all tech giants, is adapting to regulatory and technological changes. The Mountain View firm has also planned to end the collection of third-party cookies on its Chrome browser within a few months. Of course, tracking will not disappear, but will in the future rely on an API, a sort of communication protocol between several applications.
This technology, called Ad Topics, will still record web browsing history and application usage, but in addition each user will be assigned a list of five interests each week. Enough to offer a good working basis for advertisers.
However, in accordance with the GDPR, it will be possible to deactivate this tracking from Chrome's privacy settings.
NordVPN: an optimal security solution to fight against targeted advertising
Limiting tracking on the internet involves a whole series of good practices. But alone, they are not always enough to thwart them.
A good cybersecurity tool like NordVPN's VPN then constitutes an undeniable asset in your fight against targeted advertising. Available from 3.39 euros per month, this solution guarantees your online confidentiality and allows you to keep control of your data.
Block all trackers and cookies, hide your IP address and create a completely secure connection tunnel in which your data is fully encrypted: this is what NordVPN is all about. Each site you decide to consult, each purchase you make online then becomes invisible to the eyes of trackers.
To go even further, NordVPN also protects your devices from major online threats such as viruses and malware. In addition, there is no risk of your data being exposed despite you, as NordVPN integrates the kill switch functionality. This guarantees you optimal security at all times and is responsible for cutting off your internet access as soon as the connection to the VPN server is cut.
This level of protection isn't just reserved for your smartphone. NordVPN protects up to 6 of your devices (smartphones, tablets, PCs, MACs, routers) and is compatible with all operating systems and browsers.