Websites use URLs to track you. Here’s how to stop them.



Websites may monitor you in a variety of ways, as you may well be aware. It explains why a single search for furniture might result in many web adverts for shelves, tables, and chairs for months on end.

10 helpful Google Search features you should be aware of

You may not be aware that third parties may monitor you using the URL or address of the website you're viewing; this is done by adding extra, seemingly random letters and digits to otherwise straightforward addresses that finish in.com, for example.

There are solutions to stop URL-based trackers and safeguard your online privacy, just like there are for the other different kinds of trackers. Knowing what you're dealing with and how to prevent any snoopers is crucial when it comes to digital security as always.

Workings of tracking URLs

Try using Google to look for a product you wish to buy, then click on one of the adverts that display at the top of the results page. There's a considerable probability that the site URL you just typed in will be followed by a very long string of characters, including numbers and letters. The URL will likely still function if you remove all of this extra information.

That's a tracking URL; it notifies the website you're viewing that you came from Google and may also include some additional data, such as how long you remain on a page and the links you click thereafter. These trackers are adored by website owners (and especially retailers) because they enable them to monitor the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and email promos.

These are pieces of information that, from a privacy standpoint, you may not want to divulge to online merchants and marketing firms. There are techniques to prevent these tracking URLs from following you around if you wish to maintain a low profile when visiting a certain website.

Remember that blocking tracking URLs won't suddenly prevent you from seeing targeted advertisements or transform you into some sort of online ghost because this is only one method websites and marketing firms track what you do online. The methods we cover in this post should be used in conjunction with other strategies for safeguarding your online privacy.

Firefox blocking tracking URLs

With its automated tracking URL blocking feature, Mozilla deserves praise. Once you enable the option, you'll see that Firefox strips the additional data from the URLs that you visit. It's a component of a larger toolkit for restricting the amount of information that websites are able to gather about you. It's known as Query Parameter Stripping by the firm.

Make sure you're using the most recent version of Firefox before selecting Settings from the menu (three horizontal lines, top right). To safeguard yourself from tracking URLs and all the other tracking techniques described above, choose Strict as your option for Enhanced Tracking Protection under Privacy & Security.

Only when you are in private mode will this not function. These windows have their own protections against online monitoring, and if you shut them, the browser shouldn't keep track of anything you did in them. On the other hand, if you want to be extremely careful, you may enter "about:config" into the URL bar and double-click the privacy.query stripping.enabled.pbmode value to set it to "true." This makes it possible to strip query parameters in private windows as well.
It's important to keep in mind that the Strict option for Enhanced Tracking Protection takes a hard stance toward online privacy, which might result in broken functionality on some websites. For instance, some websites allow you to shop while having products stored in a virtual shopping cart. If a website is giving you trouble, click Manage Exceptions to exclude it from Firefox's privacy restrictions.

Other browsers except Firefox do not yet have the built-in capability to remove tracking URLs. You'll need to look for a third-party plugin to perform the work for you if you want to combat these trackers in a different browser. The good thing is that you have a lot of options.

The free and aptly titled ClearURLs is one of the better solutions whether you're using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. The extension is quite easy to use, and you can toggle URL stripping on or off by clicking on its icon in the toolbar. Additionally, you may keep track of the modifications it performs and compile data on how many URLs it edits if you so like.

Another free option is Tracking Token Stripper, which will eliminate every component of a URL that your browser doesn't truly require in order to reach your destination. Following installation in Chrome or Edge, the extension will automatically remove tracking URLs without further action from you. Because this add-on is so simple, there aren't any settings for you to experiment with.

You should give Clean Links a try if you use Safari. Once the extension has been downloaded, go to your Downloads folder, double-click the file, and then select Open in Safari Extensions Preferences from the pop-up menu. Additionally, you may access Safari, Preferences, and Extensions. To reduce tracking URLs in Apple's web browser, make sure both Clean Links Content Blocker and Clean Links Extension are turned on.

A freelance writer to Popular Science, David Nield creates how-to articles and explainers for the DIY section on topics ranging from enhancing smartphone images to enhancing laptop security. He doesn't have much free time, but when he does, he likes to take long walks in the countryside and watch obscure films.

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