Why Your Internet Browsing History Isn’t As Private As You Might Think
Find out why companies can still see all the sites you’re surfing, even in private mode.
Your Internet browsing history is one of the most private, sacred things in your life, wouldn’t you agree? All the things you searched on Google, every raunchy website you’ve visited…very, very private information.
But if you think your browser history is safe on your personal laptop, think again. We’re sorry to say, but it’s not safe. Once you’re online, your data is in the matrix forever, and companies can buy your personal data for very cheap. Yikes.
According to a recent survey, most people have absolutely no clue that companies actually buy personal browsing history. That means every porn site you’ve visited, every online My Little Pony game you’ve played, every Google search about crack pipes or foot fetishes, people can see. The more you know, right?
The survey was conducted by credit comparison site TotallyMoney.com, where 1,000 men were asked how private they believe their personal data is, especially when it comes to their browsing history.
Turns out 68.9 percent of men thought their browser history was safe from prying eyes, but sadly that’s a false belief. Companies can buy your super private browsing history for £0.0014. Do you know how cheap that is? That’s $0.0016. That’s like 1/10 of a penny!
Jo Gardiner from TotallyMoney.com says, “It looks like men have little idea that their browsing history is so easily available to others. And they would do well to educate themselves on their rights regarding third party companies.”
That said, you should also know that 54.8 percent of men from the survey said they really wouldn’t want to share their personal data with a third party company. Yet companies still have access to it. Seriously, haven’t they heard of a little something called breach of privacy?
After hearing this violating information, you might be thinking, “I’ll just use incognito mode. Problem solved.” WRONG. Problem not solved. According to DuckDuckGo CEO Gabe Weinberg, private or incognito mode on browsers aren’t even all that private.
Private mode only keeps information off your computer, but your internet service provider can still monitor every search you make, and every website you visit. Like I said, not private at all.
However, Google offers full disclosure in its Chrome browser about this, stating, “Going incognito doesn’t hide your browsing from your employer, your internet service provider or the websites that you visit.”
Mozilla Firefox is also pretty clear about private browsers not being actually private, stating “While this computer won’t have a record of your browsing history, your employer or internet service provider can still track the pages you visit.”
Well, now you know that your browser history isn’t actually private, so you can stop stressing over people seeing it. Because they will.