When you shut down the apps and browser on your device, you’d be surprised that a lot of times, online ads would suddenly pop up and can be frustrating when you close them one by one. These ads may warn you that your device’s security has been compromised or the items on your online shopping cart are now on sale.
When you click the ad, you’ll unknowingly share your personal information when the advertiser starts tracking your activities.
And if you’ve installed apps on your device, your daily activities are also monitored and recorded. The collected pieces of information are used by the app developer to improve its services… or at least that’s what we’re led to believe.
Some of the most notorious apps known to collect a lot of information from its users include Facebook, Google, Messenger, PayPal, Waze, DoorDash, The Weather Channel, Mint, Coinbase and YouTube.
Most of the information gathered is suspectedly sold to advertisers so users can receive targeted ads. And since personalized ads are proven to be more effective, advertisers are willing to pay for your information at a high cost.
So how do you block such third-party online trackers?
Preventing Apps and Websites from Collecting Your Information
1. Use a DNS-based traffic blocker
Many organizations support the prevention of distributing malware through malicious URLs and apps so that users can be protected each time they go online. These groups compile lists of suspected links that are likely to be harmful because they carry malware.
However, it can be tiresome to verify these lists before you download an app or visit a website. That’s because these databases contain different items.
A good solution is to use a tool such as ExpressVPN’s DNS-based traffic blocker Threat Manager that sources all publicly available lists of trackers and malware hosts and will block these on your app automatically.
All you have to do is to activate this free feature once you connect to ExpressVPN and your iOS, Linux or Mac device will be prevented from communicating with all the servers that are blacklisted based on the updated source databases.
2. Configure your device or browser settings
If you have an Android device or a Firefox browser user, you can try any of the following setting configuration tips that we listed in this post. The steps listed in the guide will keep your device or browser from opening pop-up ads and suspicious sites that collect information.
3. Delete spamming apps
You may not be aware of how many apps are already installed in your device, and some of these are likely to be the cause of spam ads. The best solution is to do an audit of your installed apps and delete those that you don’t frequently use and those that are potential spammers.
4. Do not sign in to apps using your social network account
When you use your social network account to sign in to an app, you’re allowing the app to collect all the social network info you post. This includes your location, likes, preferences, friends and even the accounts that you visit.
Always use a separate email and a unique password when signing in to an app.
5. Use browsers that prevent tracking
Instead of using Google, you may opt to browse through search engines such as DuckDuckGo that protects users’ privacy by filtering search results before displaying it on your screen. It also prevents generating results from content farms.
Likewise, you can install a browser extension such as Decentraleyes to block requests from reaching Google-hosted libraries, or Privacy Badger to keep advertisers and third-party trackers from tracking your activities.
6. Run Google’s Privacy Checker
If you continue to use Google, take advantage of its Privacy Checker so you can identify which information it collects. By doing so, you can adjust your privacy settings according to the level you prefer.
7. Delete your search history regularly
By deleting cookies on your search engine, your browsing history is deleted each time you exit. By doing so, you can keep your history from being exposed.
8. Don’t store your usernames or passwords on your browser
You might be tempted to save usernames and passwords on your browser for easier and faster login. However, this should never be permitted to prevent third-party trackers from compromising your information.
What VPN offers the best protection against third-party trackers?
ExpressVPN prevents data breaches by controlling data leaks during information exchange between parties. Without it, your DNS server operator or your ISP can log every website you visit — even when you’re using a VPN. This added security feature can keep your online sessions private because
ExpressVPN doesn’t log any of your data. In addition, ExpressVPN is registered in the British Virgin Islands where there are no data retention laws unlike in other countries that require VPN service providers to log customer activity.
Many analysts and product reviewers also agree that ExpressVPN is unparalleled when it comes to its strong privacy and security measures, a global presence of servers, and excellent split tunneling capability.
Ready to use a paid VPN? Try ExpressVPN!
If you want a VPN that offers robust security and geo-spoofing features that you can trust, start making each browsing experience safe and sound by choosing your ExpressVPN plan today. Enjoy the internet with privacy and security!
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