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2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
You give out this information even when you go to secure sites.
There are different types of data that even VPN services cannot interfere with collecting. Here are the main ones.
What data the browser can collect
1. Device hardware and software
The browser knows what plugins are installed on it and what operating system you have. As for the hardware, the program collects data about the central processor, video card and battery.
2. Connection information
The browser has some information about your internet connection. This includes the IP address and download speed of the files.
3. Location
This or that site can quite accurately determine your geolocation, even if you have not provided it with access to GPS coordinates. For this, the Geolocation API from Google is used. Regardless of which device you use to access the Web, the browser will provide location information with an accuracy of about 50 km.
This can be dealt with by using proxy servers. There are tons of free options out there.
4. Browsing history
The most obvious type of data a browser collects is your browsing history. Of course, it can be cleaned, but even so, there is no complete guarantee of safety. For example, in the middle of this year it became known that Google stores certain information about views from Chrome anyway.
5. Mouse movements
The browser can even tell how you move the mouse cursor and how you click on different elements of web resources. To see how this works, you can use the ClickClickClick site.
6. Orientation of the device
Almost all modern smartphones are equipped with a gyroscope. It is used in fitness apps and other similar services.
Your browser sees if the device has a gyroscope and a compass and which orientation is currently set - horizontal or vertical. There are also some other technical details on the list.
The program can even predict where the smartphone is, for example, in a pocket, in a bag or on a table.
7. Used social networks
Information about which social networks you are logged into is also saved. The browser knows how to correlate this data with others so that advertisers know the maximum about your interests.
8. Fonts and language
The application knows what fonts are installed on the computer. The same goes for the language used in the operating system.
9. Image data
When you upload a photo or any other picture to the Web, the browser scans the file's metadata. These can include location, image resolution, technical details of the file, and even the camera model that the photo was taken with.
10. Technical information
The browser also collects a ton of other, more specific data. This can be information about the presence or absence of a touch screen, the size of the display, and much more.
How to check what data the browser collects
There are two web tools that will work for this. Both are free.
1. WebKay
The site scans your browser and tells you what information the program can provide to other resources. The data is broken down into categories, each of which displays recommendations for improving the situation.
WebKay →
2. Panopticlick
Tool from the American non-profit organization "Electronic Frontier Foundation", which protects the rights laid down in the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in connection with the emergence of new communication technologies. Panopticlick will determine if your browser is at risk of being "snooped on the Web without consent."
The system will show which aspects of the browser are protected and which are not. By clicking the Show full results for fingerprinting button below the table, you can see how unique your program's fingerprint is among those tested over the last 45 days.
Panopticlick →
To protect yourself as much as possible while browsing the Internet, you can use one of the browsers for anonymous surfing. Do not forget that extensions can also collect data about you, as well as harm in other ways. Lifehacker has already talked about how to detect dangerous plugins using Chrome as an example.
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