Companies track users online using cookies, IP addresses, device fingerprinting, and tracking pixels embedded in websites and emails to monitor browsing, build profiles for targeted ads, and sell data, often cross-referencing across devices and apps for detailed user insights, though privacy tools like ad-blockers and VPNs offer some defense.
Key Tracking Methods
Cookies (First & Third-Party): Small data files placed on your device that identify you, remembering login info, cart items, and tracking your journey across sites, especially via third-party ad networks.
IP Addresses: Reveal your general location, Internet Service Provider (ISP), and can be used to identify you, providing a baseline for tracking.
Device Fingerprinting: Creates a unique digital signature of your device based on its settings, hardware, and browser configuration (like HTML5 canvas), making it hard to block and track you even without cookies.
Tracking Pixels (Web Beacons): Tiny, invisible images in emails or on web pages that signal when content is opened or viewed, collecting data on device, OS, and time.
App Tracking: Apps collect data on usage, location, and device permissions, often sending this to servers for analysis and advertising.
Browser Extensions & Scripts: Legitimate or malicious extensions intercept data, while site scripts analyze clicks, scrolls, and time on page to build profiles.
How Data is Used
User Profiling: Data from various sources (browsing, apps, location) is combined into detailed profiles.
Targeted Advertising: Profiles are used to show you ads relevant to your perceived interests.
Data Brokering: Collected information is sold and resold to other companies, marketers, and data brokers.
Analytics: Websites use data to understand traffic, improve services, and identify suspicious activity.
Where Tracking Happens
On Websites: Through embedded ads, analytics tools, and widgets.
In Emails: Via tracking pixels in images.
In Apps: Through app permissions and built-in trackers.
Across Devices: Linking activity from your phone, tablet, and computer