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How You Can Stop Advertisers That Track Without Cookies

Tracking cookies monitoring online browsing behavior across multiple websites.

From the social media pages you follow and your online shopping purchases to your preferred online news source, advertisers track your digital activity to analyze your online behavior and target you with their campaigns. For decades, tracking cookies have been used as an effective tool for advertisers.

However, as the general public becomes increasingly concerned about their digital privacy protections and recent laws help us to control certain types of online data collection, websites and advertisers are finding new ways to practice tracking without cookies.

Targeted tracking and online data collection aren’t all negative. They can help tailor the user experience and allow you to easily find desired products or websites. It’s important to understand how your data is tracked so that you can maintain some control over your privacy protection.   

A tracking cookie is an online tool that monitors Internet user browsing activity. This tool tracks user behavior, interactions, and preferences which advertisers then collect. A cookie allows advertisers to send personalized and targeted ads to websites that you visit. They hope this will influence your clicks and online purchases.

Tracking cookies can also improve the user experience by tailoring the content that you see based on your past activity and preferences.

Here’s a look at the two general types of tracking cookies:

  • First-party cookies: First-party cookies are small text files controlled and stored on your personal device by a website that you’ve visited. They’re used by specific websites that you visit to analyze your behavior and optimize your experience on those sites. First-party cookies store data like login details, language settings, shopping cart items, and user preferences.
  • Third-party cookies: Third-party tracking cookies are implemented by a different domain than the website you’re visiting. They’re used by advertising networks and social media platforms to track user behavior in all online activity for analytics and targeted advertising. For example, imagine you’ve searched for a mountain bike online. After your initial search, you click on a social media platform. As you scroll through your feed, you notice five different ads for mountain bikes. This is probably the result of a third-party tracking cookie.

There’s also another, more nefarious form of a tracking cookie known as the “zombie cookie.” Zombie cookies (or evercookies) don’t want your brains, thankfully. However, they’re unrelenting in data collection. This type of tracking file can be stored in multiple locations and will regenerate even after you’ve deleted it. Zombie cookies continue to track you, even without your consent.

Tracking cookies monitor browsing habits to deliver targeted advertising.

How tracking cookies work

When you visit a website, a first-party cookie is stored on your browser. If you revisit the website or a related site (via embedded links or ads), the cookie uniquely identifies you as a repeat visitor and tracks your activity. 

A first-party cookie can benefit you as it tailors an efficient, personalized user experience and improves website performance. For example, if you’re shopping online and have saved items to your cart, a first-party cookie can automatically log you in and remember your shopping cart items. 

Third-party cookies can be added to your browser from third-party content like ads, links, and videos. These cookies track your activity and browsing habits to target you with relevant, personalized ads. 

Zombie cookies are a form of third-party cookie that utilizes locations like a flash drive or HTML5 local storage after you’ve deleted them from your browser. They’re used to create user profiles, bypass privacy controls, and for ad tracking.

Tracking cookies and digital privacy

According to the Pew Research Center, 42% of American consumers are extremely concerned about companies that sell their personal information without consent. This concern has led to many states implementing privacy laws. 

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives consumers more control over their online data and gives Internet users the “right to opt out.”

Other states, including Colorado, Texas, Utah, and Virginia, have adapted similar laws. Internet users in these states will often see a cookie notification pop up on websites that allows them to opt out of all or unnecessary tracking cookies.

Third-party cookies might be considered especially invasive, and are often blocked by browsers and users alike. Thus, advertisers may turn to cookieless tracking methods to collect consumer data.

Common methods for cookieless online tracking

Common techniques for tracking without cookies include the following:

  • Browser or Device Fingerprinting: This ethically murky tracking method collects browser and device characteristics. Those include the fonts you use, your IP address, operating system used, and screen resolution to create a digital fingerprint that can track you. You won’t be able to identify browser or device fingerprinting, as it tracks you across websites and user sessions without storing any information in your browser or on your device. Even if you have tracking cookies blocked, browser or device fingerprinting can still track your online activity and behavior.
  • First-party data collection: This user tracking method is mostly beneficial for both websites and users. It directly collects data through user website activity like email sign-ups, login information, and purchase history to personalize targeted marketing campaigns.
  • Server-side tracking: Server-side tracking captures user server activity and data. It sends this information directly to a website’s server to process the data, before forwarding it to analytics and marketing platforms. Server-side tracking can bypass privacy protocols like ad blockers to collect data.
Cookieless tracking collects IP address, screen resolution, and operating system details.

What tracking without cookies means for your privacy

Cookieless tracking is actually a proactive shift toward upholding digital privacy protections. It may help to completely phase out third-party cookies. 

There’s a heavy focus on first-party data collection, which means that advertisers and platforms collect the data used by the websites you visit and apps you use. This allows for more transparent online data collection and a less invasive approach to tracking. 

Recent cookieless tracking tools, like the Google Privacy Sandbox, attempt to anonymize collected user data. That way advertisers will not have access to your personal details.

Steps you can take to block cookieless tracking

You can’t completely block cookieless tracking. But there are steps you can take to mitigate the collection of your personal data. You can use privacy-focused web browsers like Firefox or the Tor Browser, privacy tools like a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or data deletion services, and adjust your browser settings to offer more protection.

Privacy protection tools to block advertiser tracking

Here are some examples of VPNs and data deletion services that can help prevent tracking without cookies:

  • VPNs. A VPN cloaks your IP address and prevents data brokers from collecting and selling your personal information. For example, CyberGhost offers an extremely affordable VPN plan with comprehensive digital security for users. IPVanish is another great VPN option with multiple subscription options that offers mobile data protection in over 200 countries.
  • Data Deletion Services. Personal data removal with services like Delete Me and Incogni remove your data from numerous data broker websites. These services reduce advertiser tracking and help to protect your devices from cyber threats like malware, ransomware, and spyware. What Is My IP Address also offers a free personal data scan privacy tool. It scans over 80 data broker sites to help you see where your data has been collected and exposed.

Browser settings you can use to block tracking

You can adjust your browser settings to block third-party cookies, limit website and app permissions, and prohibit plug-ins. Consider disabling location services and regularly clearing your browsing data.

You can also use anti-tracking browser extensions like Ghostery or Privacy Badger. These block ads, prevent hidden tracking, and allow you to utilize a private Internet search. 

Although advertisers can implement tracking without cookies, there are proactive steps that you can take to block their tracking ability. Protecting your digital privacy requires intentional measures. But regardless of your background or lack of tech prowess, you can learn to protect yourself online.

For more on cookieless tracking and cybersecurity tips, visit the What Is My IP Address blog. Or listen to the Easy Prey Podcast, available to stream on your favorite podcast platforms.

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