Cookies are digital text crumbs, which are used to follow one’s digital activity.
In today’s modern virtual world, most of the traditional day-to-day life and shopping habits are gone. Consumers can now buy products or pay for service online. So it is no wonder that agencies are using internet, which makes the world one big shopping mall. Ever wondered what lies behind the advertisement on a webpage you just visited, and how it affects your privacy?
Visiting websites users leave digital footprints. These are being tracked by advertising companies without users’ knowledge, studying their online behavior and trends. They collect information such as gender, location, websites frequently visited, interests and hobbies. Analyzing the gathered data, advertisers serve the users with more personalized ads, based on their built profile.
How do they collect all the data? By following cookies specially assigned to every website visitor. These cookies are stored in the web browser, until the user decides to delete them. But the game does not end there.
Anytime a user connects to the internet using a common browser, the cookies are embedded in his/her browser again. This has been widespread technology for a while now, digital agencies are using consumer behavior to serve them ads based on their interest. Custom made ads are more likely to be clicked by consumer since it’s something he was searching before. Apart from these ordinary cookies, there are persistent super cookies also called ‘ever cookies’. These are hidden in the Browser, storing information, yet not in the main cookie log, but rather in multiple locations, to avoid bulk removal by the user.
Reputable companies such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook also use cross-device tracking. Cross device tracking means that when a user connects to a certain device, a laptop for example, and then (using the same Network) connects his or hers smartphone, with the same login credentials as the previous device. Advertisers know it is the same person and they are doing cross-device tracking, to collect as much information as possible. The Federal Trade Commission released statistics that only 30%-50% of Internet users clean their browsing cookies at least once a month. If someone decided to track down and connect a user’s online behavior with an Email or actual identifiable information, this is where and when that happens.
Users never give their consent to being tracked by advertising companies. The National Security Agency says that 74% of Internet users are more worried about their privacy today than the previous year. Each of the marketing agencies is claiming they never use or collect anything other than anonymous data – but even if true, are they any good in keeping that data anonymous?
Some consumer products have been developed to assist users with data privacy. PC Privacy Shield (by ShieldApps Software Innovations) has been designed and equipped with real-time protection algorithms, which allow the user to respond to potential threat promptly. PC Privacy Shield scans deep within files and reveals data containing the user’s personal information that can be tracked and logged.
PC Privacy Shield is being used by more than 8,000,000 active users every day, to stop advertisers from prying into their private life.