Home Forums FineTunedMac Community Lounge Is Safari Last Hope for Web Privacy?

is-apples-safari-browser-the-last-best-hope-for-web-privacy?

Interesting article.

This is important: "Google pulled another bullish move in 2018 when it decided that logging into and out of a Google website like GMail or YouTube was the same as logging into the Chrome browser, because it could. So instead of being logged into the giant surveillance monster while you were using its websites, you were logged into the giant surveillance monster all the time, unless you remembered to log out of the browser, which of course you didn’t, because people just don’t think about logging in and out of their browser."

It's written in past tense, but I assume it still stands.

…and despite all Google's claims of anonymizing the data they collect they can still track everything you do online to your front porch.

I NEVER log in to Google, so there's a major limit on what they can know about ME.

I've got no idea how much tracking they do of activity from my IP address, but I never see targeted ads.

It is not necessary to log in to Google for them to track you. All you have to do is access a website that uses Google tracking, Google analytics, or any one of a number of Google tools, or use a Google product such as Chrome or one of its derivatives. When that happens Google implants a cookie or more likely cookies and they go to work. Using cross-site tracking techniques those cookies remain active even when you leave the site where you were infected and track everywhere you go on any other thread — even those that are not infected. Unlike Facebook and its derivatives the results likely won't show up immediately and it may be many forms from snail mail delivered by the U.S. post office, telephone solicitation, text messages, ads that appear in Google's side-bar, as well as what appears in third party ad banners you see on line.

I just looked at my Safari Privacy Report and found 73% of the websites I visited in the last thirty days contacted trackers, twenty-one associated with my bank alone. Of the sixty-three trackers Safari blocked, seven are from Google.Googletagmanager.com and google.com topped the list, appearing on ten different sites each and Google accounted for three of the top five trackers.

Which I suppose explains while so much stuff shows up on my drive as cookies related to Google when I visit some sites. Like artie, I eschew anything "Google" but they just seem to worm their way in everywhere. Vigilance is the watchword. I have my Cookie software set to clear cookies every five minutes from any sites not on my approved list, but I still double-check (Safari >Preferences> Privacy>Manage Website data) prior to entering any site where I am concerned about security. e.g. banking, investments, credit card....

Sites that do NOT use Google cookies are rare, if for no other reason than it helps the site get higher placement on Google searches.

And another reason: Google offers "free" site visitor analytics to webmasters and that also places Google cookies in every site that uses their "free" analytics.