Ad trackers and surveillance.
A Take Back Your Bytes lesson: what is wrong with advertising trackers and surveillance, and what you can do about it.
The whole lesson in under five minutes. Captions are on the picture and music is built in. Press the speaker button for sound. Also available: the dark version for projecting and subtitle files for the light and dark videos.
Five steps to take back your bytes
1. See what loads on the pages you visit 2. Add a content blocker from the official source 3. Search without a profile: privacysafe.is 4. Check your phone apps (Android: Exodus Privacy) 5. Delete your advertising ID, then review in 3 months
Tools named in this lesson are examples, not recommendations. Choose what fits your browser, your device and your needs, and check each tool's own page for current details.
Welcome. Let’s take back your bytes.
Most websites and apps you use quietly send information about you to companies you have never heard of. That data builds profiles used to target ads, and it can also be bought, sold, lost or misused. In this lesson you’ll see how that works, why it matters, and what practical steps you can take, from a blocker in your browser to a search that does not build a profile to a check of the apps on your phone.
We keep the advice general. No single tool fixes everything, tools change, and the right mix depends on your browser, your phone and your needs. You’ll also hear the other side: ads pay for a lot of the web, so we talk about trade-offs, not just rules.
Make a prediction. Before the demo you’ll be asked: when you open a news article, how many of its requests go to companies other than the site itself? Write down a number. We’ll check it on an example page.
Follow the session in order.
Learn the ideas, explore the lab, then make your own plan.
2. The tracker lab
Runs in your browser Open made-up pages with and without blockers, watch a learning blocker decide, read an app tracker report, and build your own plan. Open the lab
3. After the demo
PDF, 4 slides Browser blockers, searching without a profile, phone apps and advertising IDs, and a take-back plan with discussion questions. Open the slides (light)What you will learn.
Understand the system, know the tools’ strengths and limits, and act.
How tracking works
Cookies, pixels, fingerprinting, app trackers and advertising IDs, and how they combine into profiles.
What tools can and cannot do
List-based and learning blockers, search without a profile, and app tracker reports, with their limits.
Make your own plan
A short checklist for your browser, search, phone and habits, plus questions about who should protect privacy.