WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Prevent companies from targeting you with adverts• Stop websites using ‘fingerprinting’ to identify you• Block all hidden trackers embedded in emails• Bypass cookie-consent pop-ups automatically• Stop Google breaking your tracker-blocking extension• Block trackers that collect your data in mobile apps• Avoid online surveillance by encrypting your connection
It would be nice to think that 2023 will be the year that tech companies finally start respecting our private data, but – spoiler alert – that’s not going to happen.
Old tracking habits die hard, and in the last few months alone we’ve seen Google settle a $392 million lawsuit for tracking its users’ locations, Apple accused of collecting data through built-in iOS apps, and TikTok forced to deny that it’s tracking US citizens using GPS. Even the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo was found to allow Microsoft trackers in its mobile browser, though these have since been blocked.
The good news is that, by necessity, there are now plenty of tools that reduce the amount of data companies can gather and share about you as you browse the web on your PC and use apps on your phone and tablet. However, the biggest problem remains that there are so many types of tracking there’s no single solution to help you stay anonymous online.
Here we explain your options for guaranteeing your privacy over the next 12 months, and why it’s essential to make these changes now before the risks become more severe, and your data falls into even more companies’ hands. We’ll expose the most serious tracking threats and reveal how to beat them in 2023.
WHY YOU MUST BLOCK ONLINE TRACKERS NOW
I already block third-party cookies – won’t that stop tracking?
Although blocking third-party cookies in your browser helps prevent companies from following you around the web, it’s no longer enough to stop your data being collected, shared and used to build a profile of things you’re interested in. In fact, tracking companies now rely less on the traditional method of using cookies to target you with ads based on your perceived interests.
What, even Google?
Especially Google, which plans to phase out third-party cookies in its Chrome browser by late 2024. It has been conducting trials of new tracking systems as part of its Privacy Sandbox initiative – the first one, called FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts) was abandoned at the start of the year, following concerns from other browser developers and privacy groups. It was replaced by Topics, which shows you adverts based on the types of websites you visit. Google believes that Topics offers greater privacy than cookies, because it groups you with other Chrome users who have similar interests, rather than using unique identifiers. However, by scrapping cookies in Chrome in favour of its own system,
