Mission possible: How to fend off online trackers

[harlan4096]

It is no secret that we are all being watched online. Google a make of automobile or like a cat picture and you will soon be inundated with car and pet store ads on almost every site you visit. And you most likely haven’t forgotten the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica.

To find out what users think about online privacy (or the lack thereof), we interviewed almost 12,000 people from 21 countries. It turned out that more than half (56%) do not believe it is possible to protect oneself fully against online tracking. They may be right to some extent, but it is possible — and necessary — to restrict third party access to your personal data as much as feasible. And it’s not too difficult to achieve. We explain here what tools can help preserve your online privacy.

Delete temporary browser files

By default, browsers store various bits of information on your computer about websites you visit:

* The cache is storage that contains images and other Web data. Once stored, the data does not need to be downloaded from the server again, thereby speeding up page response times.
* Cookies are small files that, among other things, enable websites to remember your device and not log you out when the browser is closed.
Web browsing history.
* A large portion of this information is visible to online trackers. It is used to find out which websites you visit and to identify your interests. Deleting this data on a regular basis will make it harder for such tools to profile your online activity. Here’s how to do it in Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.

By the way, there is no need to delete temporary data manually. Most browsers let you configure automatic deletion of cookies. To learn how, see Firefox, Chrome, and Edge help, for example.

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