{"id":4003,"date":"2022-05-23T09:59:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T09:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/?p=4003"},"modified":"2022-05-23T09:59:41","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T09:59:41","slug":"why-does-your-isp-track-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/why-does-your-isp-track-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Does Your ISP Track You?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yes, your Internet Service Provider can see everything you do online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you binge-watch your favorite shows on streaming platforms, buy any gadgets from Amazon, or even talk privately with your friends on Facebook – your ISP knows it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you noticed that recently the ads you\u2019re seeing got way too specific, as if they would be able to read your mind? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, in a way, they do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main reasons your ISP loves to spy on you is that they can learn about your habits, hobbies, and other interests and sell them to third parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As unfortunate as it sounds, you are being sold as data without any of your knowledge or consent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our current age of connectivity, it is crucial to think of online privacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies show that as of 2022, people tend to spend 147 minutes online a day<\/a> on average, and the numbers are still growing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s a big part of your life your ISP knows about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why do ISPs track you, and is there any possibility to stop it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll explain a bit further why your ISP tracks your every move and how you are able to protect your data by remaining private online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do ISPs track you?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no one specific reason why ISPs want to know you that well. However, these are the main three reasons why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advertising<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Basically, your ISP sees you as an opportunity to make more money, and they use it wisely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They create characteristics from your actions online and sell them to a third party, usually a marketing agency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering the huge amount of user data an ISP knows, these data exchanges are widely popular. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why sometimes you might feel like being spied on while browsing the net. It\u2019s actually a great algorithm; who knows what you like, how you want it, and when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Censorship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, ISPs and governments work hand in hand. If the government restricts access to specific websites, your ISP will definitely block such pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you cannot use social media in China, Turkmenistan, or even India, and your ISP will make sure you won\u2019t be able to access it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governments quite often employ ISPs to enforce such censorship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As your ISP already tracks everything you do online, it\u2019s quite easy for them to restrict your access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data retention laws<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The government also plays a big role in other laws. Even if you live in a country where no geo-restrictions apply, you can still be spied on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, some countries have mandatory data retention laws. The law itself requires your ISP to track and gather data about its users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, this information is collected to prevent any crimes; however, why should you be watched if you\u2019re not planning to do anything wrong? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Privacy is something that every person should have, both online and offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to prevent your ISP from tracking you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you want to take your privacy back into your hands, one of the most accessible solutions to do so is to use a VPN. A VPN, short for a virtual private network, encrypts all the data of yours by creating a tunnel between your device and another network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way, no ISPs, or even hackers, are able to see your real IP address<\/a>; thus, they do not know anything you do online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you use a VPN, your ISP will only see some encrypted gibberish, which will not be useful for them at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, sometimes the government, if suspicious of any illegal activity, may contact your VPN provider and ask for additional information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the reason why we advise you to research before choosing a specific VPN provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that they have a \u201cno log\u201d policy, meaning they don\u2019t track and collect your data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, always choose a paid\/premium VPN provider. Why free VPNs might look desirable, they sell your data as well. How do you think they earn money?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, your Internet Service Provider can see everything you do online. Whether you binge-watch your favorite shows on streaming platforms, buy any gadgets from Amazon, or even talk privately with your friends on Facebook – your ISP knows it all. Have you noticed that recently the ads you\u2019re seeing got way too specific, as if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[369],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[173,220,328],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4003"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4003"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelleander.me\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}