Digital privacy is a myth. It is important to understand that, try as hard as we might, it might be impossible to close our lives completely to surveillance. Our home assistants are listening, browsers are saving data, and maps and apps are tracking our movement. Provided you employ a digital device or solution at work or home, the possibility of surveillance exists.
That said, to let ourselves go completely would be to surrender our privacy. Some individuals wouldn’t like that option, and they kick against breaches of privacy through many technologies and practices. One such technology is an antidetect browser.
An antidetect browser possesses features and functions that help its users maintain their anonymity while browsing the web. It isn’t a perfect anti-surveillance solution, but when you are online, it’s a pretty powerful one.
In this article, we explore the features and functions of antidetect browsers and how online surveillance occurs.
Features and Functions of Antidetect Browsers
Like any other tool, antidetect browsers have unique features in their designs that make them function as they do. Here are some of the most important ones:
●User-Agent Spoofing – When browsers connect to web servers, they usually send along user-agent strings that contain the browser and version details. An antidetect browser randomizes such details, making it difficult for the server to identify them accurately.
●Cookie Management – Websites employ cookies for a variety of purposes, including authentication, tracking, etc. While authentication cookies are a security measure for users, tracking cookies are a bane to users wanting more privacy. The best antidetect browser for anonymity should be able to manage cookies by blocking or deleting them after sessions.
●Canvas Fingerprinting Protection – Web trackers understand that traditional tracking methods, such as the use of cookies, are easy to block and delete. Therefore, they may sometimes employ sophisticated browser fingerprinting techniques like canvas fingerprinting for the same purpose. The best antidetect browsers should be able to thwart attempts by the relevant Javascript code to render the fingerprint.
●IP Spoofing and VPN Integration – There’s no privacy or anonymity if your real IP address is available to give you away. Antidetect browsers make use of private proxy networks or integration with Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to hide the IP addresses of users.
●Virtual Browsing Profiles – The best antidetect browser for use as a privacy measure needs to be able to simulate browsing profiles. These profiles would help users assume new identities, locations, activities, etc., making identification difficult for web servers. As such, it is nearly impossible to connect the activity of a particular user.
How Do Trackers Monitor Internet Activity
There are regulations to guide the legal monitoring of digital activity. However, the use of vague language and difficult-to-comprehend long-form disclosures help data mining sites dribble web users. The consequence is that visitors to websites mostly consent to things they don’t know. While we can’t say what your favourite site does with your data, here is how they track your activity
1.) Cookies – Cookies are small pieces of text sent by websites to browsers when they accept an HTTP request. The cookie would help the browser access information on your visits, track activity, and improve user experience. If you value privacy more than minuscule gains in user experience, the best antidetect browsers have excellent cookie management options.
2.) Tracking Pixels – They are similar to cookies. However, where cookies are small text files, these are small text images. Tracking pixels are invisible to the naked eye because they are tiny and blend with the colour of the webpage. Nevertheless, it takes a javascript code to embed and load them onto pages. The best antidetect browsers can selectively prevent their loading.
3.) IP Addresses – Devices connected to the internet possess unique IP addresses. Web trackers collect these IP addresses, monitor activity associated with them, and connect the activities to create accurate online profiles. By using proxy networks and VPN integration, antidetect browsers can obscure IPs and stump the trackers.
4.) Online Fingerprinting – Website trackers employ sophisticated strategies. One such involves the use of digital fingerprinting techniques to create identifiers for visitors. The identifiers are unique to each IP address. As such, the trackers collect specific attributes such as browser name, browser version, installed plugins, device name and brand, screen resolution, etc. The best antidetect browser can alter the identity created by randomizing its user agent strings or providing canvas fingerprinting protection.
Final Conclusion
Data makes the world go round. Businesses collect data for research purposes, websites need them for personalization efforts, and people need them for information. However, it is nearly impossible to monitor the intent of some avenues that collect data, and some of them might be malicious. For this reason, privacy is of utmost importance to many people.
Antidetect browsers help confer privacy on their users. The best antidetect browsers have features to deal with a variety of tracking technologies.
However, users still have to stay ahead of digital surveillance avenues and tools if they are to master the art of anonymity. Good luck as you strive to take control of your online footprint.
