How Do Websites Use My Data?
Sometimes, it feels like the internet is reading our minds. We search for something online and within two minutes our Facebook feed shows us ads related to what we were searching for. This is done via website tracking code designed to collect data and information about site visitors and their online behavior. The trackers monitor your activity by registering the websites you visit, your screen time and things you click on. This practice is legal and is oriented towards tailoring your online experience. Website tracking does not pose any serious threat to your online security. Still, it’s important to understand how your online data is tracked and used.
When browsing the internet, we leave behind digital traces that are collected by the websites. It’s a very common practice: about 80% of websites monitor the online behavior of the users. The results are used not only for advertising, but also in other ways.
Thanks to website tracking, you can get a geographically targeted list of service providers in your area anytime you need to have something done. That’s because the search engine recognizes your location. Another example is how online shops show you lists of recommended products. They are able to do so by keeping track of which items you previously clicked on. No matter what your privacy settings are, certain information is inevitably revealed to the websites you visit.
What data is collected?
Most commonly, websites track the following information:
IP addresses of users, which can be used to determine approximate locations
Interactions with the website, such as clicks and active viewing time
Information on the types of browsers and devices used to access the site content
Browsing history across the site, providing insights about an individuals interests and habits
Types of Trackers
You have most likely heard about internet browser “cookies”: whenever you visit a site which uses cookies, smalls bits of data are sent to your computer and stored. Cookies save certain information about the websites you visit and the things you click on. If you don't have an account on a particular site, the data you enter on it is typically saved in a cookie to your web browser. Other times, this cookie is a unique identifier to keep track of a profile that gets created soon after you first visit the website, even if you don’t complete a formal registration form.
Another way of tracking is browser fingerprinting. It identifies the kind of browser you are using, its version, operating system, plugins, etc.
A third way of tracking website visitors are through pixel tags - tiny images that are downloaded to let the senders know that the page was opened. These are commonly used in email marketing campaigns and sophisticated providers of marketing software even use this data to tailor message delivery time windows based on a user’s online patterns.
It’s important to know how websites use and store information about you. To learn more about how the websites you access use your data, make sure to review each site’s terms of use and any privacy policy. Most websites have links to these documents available via their site footers.
