Whenever you go online, your every move is being tracked. And you have no idea what happens to all that information. More than 60 percent of Americans consider unauthorized digital tracking very intrusive, according to a survey from Consumer Reports.
Consumer Reports’ latest issue has lots of tips for protecting your privacy. Here are 4 easy steps you can take to limit digital tracking:
-Install an ad blocker, such Privacy Badger. It blocks ads that come with tracking software.
-Check your phone settings to see which apps are tracking your location, and turn off any that don’t need to know.
-If you go to an unfamiliar website that asks for your email address, go to a site like 10minutemail.com, where you can get a temporary email that self-destructs after you use it.
-Be cautious of Google. Google collects a tremendous amount of information about you, and it does that no matter where you go online through Google search, Google maps, YouTube, or Gmail. You can see just how much Google tracks if you look under “My account” and then “My activity.” There are also alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo that don’t track their users.
Complete Ratings and recommendations on all kinds of products, including appliances, cars & trucks, and electronic gear, are available on Consumer Reports’ website. Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org.
