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Understanding Internet Privacy: What Information You Share Online

Every time you browse the internet, visit a website, or use an app, you leave behind digital information. This information includes your location, the websites you visit, your search history, the items you look at while shopping, and sometimes even more personal details. According to a 2023 Pew Research Center study, 81% of Americans feel they have lost control of their personal information online. Understanding what information you share is the first step toward protecting yourself.

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Websites collect data through several methods. When you visit a site, it may place small files called cookies on your device. These cookies track which pages you visit and how long you stay there. Some websites use what's called "pixels" or "beacons"—tiny, invisible tracking tools that monitor your behavior. Mobile apps often request permission to access your location, contacts, camera, and microphone. Many people agree to these permissions without reading what information the app will collect.

Social media platforms collect extensive information about you. Facebook, for example, tracks not just what you post, but also the ads you click on, the pages you visit, your location history, and even websites you visit outside of Facebook if those sites have Facebook tracking tools. This data is valuable to companies because it helps them show you targeted advertisements. A 2022 Federal Trade Commission report found that major tech companies collected billions of data points on individual consumers.

Your internet service provider (ISP)—the company that provides your home internet—can see which websites you visit, even if those sites are secure. This is because they manage all the data traveling through their network. Internet providers in the United States are allowed to collect and sell information about your browsing habits to advertisers, though they are required to give you the option to opt out of this practice.

Practical Takeaway: Before using a new website or app, take a moment to notice what information it asks for. Ask yourself: Does this service really need access to my location, contacts, or camera? Understanding what you're sharing is more important than trying to stop all data collection, which is nearly impossible in today's digital world.

How Data Brokers Buy and Sell Your Information

Data brokers are companies you've probably never heard of, but they likely have detailed files about you. These companies collect personal information from many sources and then sell it to other businesses. A 2020 report by the Office of the Vermont Attorney General identified over 700 data brokers operating in the United States. Some of the largest ones include Experian, Equifax, and Acxiom, though many smaller brokers operate quietly in the background.

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Data brokers collect information from public records, online sources, purchase history, and data they buy from other companies. Public records include property ownership, court records, and voter registration information. Online sources include social media profiles, directory listings, and websites where you've entered your information. Purchase history comes from retailers, credit card companies, and loyalty programs. One data broker might know your age, address, income level, health conditions, shopping preferences, and political beliefs—all compiled into a single profile sold to advertisers, lenders, or insurance companies.

The data broker industry operates with very little regulation. Unlike credit reporting agencies, which are covered by federal laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act, many data brokers face no legal requirement to tell you they have your information or to let you see what they've collected. This means a company could have incorrect information about you, and you might never know it. In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission published a report examining nine large data brokers and found that the data they maintained was often incomplete, inaccurate, and sensitive. Some files contained information about people's health conditions, ethnicity, and financial situations that was incorrect or outdated.

Data brokers sell information to many different types of buyers. Insurance companies use it to set rates. Employers use it during hiring decisions. Lenders use it to decide whether to offer you credit. Political campaigns use it to target voters. Marketing companies use it to send you advertisements. Some data brokers even sell information to people-search websites, where anyone can pay a small fee to learn where you live or what your phone number is.

Practical Takeaway: Visit the websites of major data brokers and request copies of the information they have about you. Many of them are required by law to provide this information if you ask. Common data brokers include Experian, Equifax, Acxiom, Epsilon, and CoreLogic. Knowing what information exists about you is the foundation for taking action to correct errors or limit how it's used.

Privacy Settings and Tools You Can Use Right Now

Most websites and social media platforms offer privacy settings that give you some control over your information. These settings are often hidden in menus labeled "Settings," "Preferences," or "Privacy." While using these settings won't make you completely anonymous online, they can reduce the amount of information collected about you. The goal is to be intentional about what you share rather than allowing the default settings to collect everything.

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On Facebook, you can adjust who sees your posts, limit what information appears on your profile, and control how advertisers target you. Go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings, then look for Privacy. You can choose to make your profile visible only to friends rather than the public. You can also limit who can see your friend list, photos, and posts from the past. In the Ads section, you can view the information Facebook has collected about you for targeting purposes. While you cannot prevent Facebook from tracking you entirely, you can limit how much of that data is used for advertising.

Google collects vast amounts of information if you use Gmail, YouTube, Google Search, or Android devices. You can review and delete some of this information through Google's My Activity page. Visit myactivity.google.com to see a timeline of your activity across Google services. You can delete individual items or set up automatic deletion every 3 or 18 months. In Google's account settings, you can also adjust what ads you see based on your interests, and you can opt out of some forms of personalized advertising, though Google will still show you ads—they just won't be targeted based on your browsing history.

Your web browser has privacy features you should enable. In Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, you can enable a "Do Not Track" setting, though not all websites respect this request. You can also clear your cookies and browsing history regularly. Most browsers allow you to use private or incognito browsing modes, which don't store your history, cookies, or search terms on your device—though your internet provider can still see which websites you visit. Consider using a privacy-focused search engine like DuckDuckGo, which does not track your searches or build a profile about you based on your search history.

Practical Takeaway: Choose one major platform you use regularly—Facebook, Google, or email—and spend 15 minutes adjusting its privacy settings this week. You don't need to do everything at once. Small, intentional adjustments to your most-used services will have a bigger impact than trying to lock down every platform.

Virtual Private Networks and Encryption Basics

A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is a tool that encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a server in another location. When you use a VPN, websites see the location of the VPN server instead of your real location, and your internet provider cannot see which websites you visit. However, the VPN company itself can see your traffic, so choosing a trustworthy VPN provider matters. Some VPN providers keep detailed logs of your activity, while others promise not to keep any logs. Read the privacy policy of any VPN you choose.

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Encryption is the process of scrambling information so that only someone with the right key can read it. When you visit a website that uses HTTPS (you'll see the "https://" in the address bar and a small lock icon), your connection is encrypted. This means that even if someone intercepts your internet traffic, they can't read the information you're sending, such as passwords or credit card numbers. Encryption protects you from hackers on public Wi-Fi networks. However, encryption does not hide the fact that you're visiting a website—only the content of what you're doing on that site.

Many VPN services are free, but they come with tradeoffs. Free VPNs sometimes display advertisements, limit how much data you can use, or sell your information to advertisers. Some free VPNs have been found to contain malware. If you choose a free VPN, research it thoroughly. Paid VPN services typically cost between $3 and $12 per month