The advancement of technologies has transformed the lives of every living generation. Extreme dependence on IT products made them inseparable from our work, planning, entertainment, and other fields. Technology makes everything so much better, more efficient, and convenient. But how do we get these advancements? What fuels our exponential progress?
Today, tech companies continue to thrive thanks to a steady stream of useful information. Data collection is a slippery slope that makes our tools much more convenient but chips away our privacy. Unregulated information extraction has compromised internet anonymity. It continues to encourage the development of tools that not only make data collection more efficient but also force users to leave prominent digital footprints.
Digital footprints have opened up new opportunities for companies and advertisers to profit from our data. In this article, we will discuss the tracks that are left behind and how they can be used for advertising purposes.
Also, we will discuss the ways you can remove or limit online fingerprints for you privacy enthusiasts. A proxy server from a good proxy provider has been an extremely popular tool amongst businesses and individuals. Read more if you are interested in their use.
For now, let’s focus on device fingerprints that can be used for marketing purposes. A third party can know your browser, location, preference, and even your devices just by the tracks you leave behind.
What Is A User Agent?
During every visit to a website, the data packets that request a connection send your user agent. This simple line of text informs the receiving party about your browser and the operating system of your device.
User agents help website owners create the best browsing experience for every situation. Once the server identifies an older version of a browser or a different operating system, it can present different versions of a page.
Thanks to user agents, we can determine the most popular browsers, but in a worst-case scenario, it is another piece of the puzzle that can help determine your identity online. If you always use the same browser, a user agent, and other digital fingerprints can help third parties determine your identity. Advertisers can tune their targeted ads based on our digital footprints, and the same user agent helps them to identify and follow our tracks. A user agent alone can say whether you have an expensive Mac or a small-screened tablet.
Internet privacy advocates use user agent switchers in unison with proxies from a legitimate proxy provider to minimize tracking and protect privacy online. Changing your user agent may also help you cover up web crawlers and scrapers without leaving too many tracks.
What Is A User Agent?
An Internet Protocol address shows the identity of devices connected to the internet. Visited websites can see your IP and use it to determine your location. Page owners may utilize this information to automatically select the correct version of the website for your location, or on the contrary – make it inaccessible in your region.
Tech-savvy advertisers can use your IP address to track your location and further internet activity. This information helps to tailor the most suitable ads for individuals, turning our data into a product.
Careful internet users believe that advertiser IP tracking invades our privacy, and we must take the necessary steps to get our anonymity back. A pool of residential proxy IPs from a respectable proxy provider will not only help you hide your activity from advertisers but will also grant you access to geo-blocked websites.
Tech-savvy advertisers like to use IP location to determine earnings and adjust prices for the targeted population. Pretty cool, right?
Stay Aware Of Web Cookies
At first, HTTP cookies were very convenient tools that memorized our settings on a website to make the browsing experience fast and efficient. While some may store too much information about users, only paranoid internet users would give up the benefits of personalized settings.
The real devil is third-party cookies. Set up by advertisers on frequently visited sites, they can track your activity through multiple websites. If you usually spend most of your browsing time on social media platforms and other popular pages, these cookies might be aware of every move you make on the web.
If you ever made a purchase online, you’ve probably been bombarded by ads related to similar products on social media websites. Because advertisers focus so much on tracking and targeting users, most web surfers feel uncomfortable and even concerned for their privacy instead of showing interest in an advertised product. This becomes a popular selling point for internet anonymity products, like residential proxies from the best proxy providers. Minimize your digital footprint for a much more pleasant browsing experience.
Final Words
An unethical approach to technology plays a big role in a growing mistrust between clients and advertisers. A smart marketer can get enough insights without pervasive tracking. With so many web surfers concerned about internet privacy, advertisers that respect these boundaries will earn great respect for their brand.
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