Internet advertisements aren't just about selling products—they're about collecting data. Marketing companies serving targeted ads build detailed profiles on individuals by gathering web browsing history, location data, clicked links, search terms, and even personal information shared online. This data is often cross-referenced with information from data brokers to create highly accurate user profiles.
While this data collection is usually used for targeted advertising, it poses serious privacy risks. It opens the door to issues like government surveillance, discrimination, and security vulnerabilities. Blocking ads has become essential in maintaining privacy online, and a VPN like TorGuard, which offers built-in adblocking, is one of the best tools to protect yourself.
The Methods Behind Surveillance Advertising
Advertisers use several methods to track individuals across devices and platforms, with some techniques being nearly impossible to avoid. Here are the most common methods they use:
1. Cookies
Cookies are small text files that websites store on your browser. While they have legitimate uses—like remembering your login status—they can also be used by advertisers to track your browsing habits across different websites. This is done by embedding unique user IDs in cookies that enable advertisers to recognize you. Even visiting a single website can lead to tens or hundreds of companies placing cookies on your browser, tracking you as you navigate the web.
2. Browser Fingerprinting
Browser fingerprinting is a sophisticated tracking technique that doesn’t rely on cookies. It identifies your device or browser by collecting information about your hardware, installed fonts, browser type, and other unique characteristics. The odds of two browsers having the same fingerprint are incredibly low, with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) finding that only 1 in 286,777 browsers share the same fingerprint. Since it leaves nothing on your device, browser fingerprinting is harder to detect and even harder to avoid.
3. Mobile Tracking
Advertisers don’t just track desktop users. On mobile devices, cookies and fingerprinting are still used, but apps offer additional methods. Every iOS and Android device comes with a unique advertising ID, specifically designed for ad tracking. Although users can reset this ID, probabilistic matching—comparing similar data across multiple devices—still allows advertisers to follow your activities across platforms. In some cases, mobile phone numbers or hardware IDs can be used to track users, particularly on Android devices.
4. Location Tracking
Many apps, even those that don't require GPS to function, gather and sell location data to advertisers. While this data is supposed to be anonymized, it’s relatively easy for companies to re-identify individuals. Even without GPS, advertisers can infer your general location through your IP address, which can reveal your city or ZIP code. This tracking can happen regardless of whether you're on desktop or mobile.
5. Probabilistic Matching
Advertisers know you switch between devices, so they use probabilistic matching to track you across platforms. By comparing patterns like browsing behavior or location data, they can infer that two devices likely belong to the same person, even if the tracking methods differ across devices.
Why You Need Adblocking for Privacy
Avoiding this level of tracking is nearly impossible without some form of intervention. This is where adblocking comes into play. When you block ads and trackers, you’re not just avoiding annoying pop-ups—you’re also preventing advertisers from collecting your data. Adblocking stops many of the tracking mechanisms described above, significantly reducing the ability of companies to profile you based on your online behavior.
How TorGuard’s Adblocking Features Protect You
TorGuard VPN offers a powerful adblocking feature that works seamlessly across all your devices, providing a crucial first line of defense against surveillance advertising. Here’s why it’s essential:
- Preventing Device Tracking: TorGuard’s adblocking stops advertisers from correlating your VPN with a specific device, making it harder for them to track you across the web.
- Cross-Device Protection: Whether you're browsing on mobile or desktop, adblocking should be consistent across all your devices. TorGuard allows up to eight simultaneous connections, ensuring that all your devices are protected with the same adblocking rules.
- DNS-Based Adblocking: When you enable adblocking in the TorGuard app, it uses the VPN server's internal DNS to block ads and tracking scripts. This works across any server you connect to, enhancing your privacy by blocking trackers at the DNS level.
To enable this feature in the TorGuard app, go to: Settings > Network > DNS, and select the "Use Ad Blocking when DNS is connected" option. This simple setting is a game changer in your battle against invasive tracking.
Strengthening Your Privacy Beyond Adblocking
While TorGuard’s adblocking is an excellent privacy tool, combining it with other strategies enhances your security even more. Consider using privacy-focused browsers, like Brave or Firefox with privacy extensions, that actively work to block fingerprinting and other forms of tracking that might bypass DNS-based adblocking.
Once you’ve activated adblocking across your devices, it’s a good idea to test its effectiveness. You can use a free tool like this adblock tester to see how well your adblocking rules are working.
Surveillance advertising and the tracking it relies on are significant privacy threats. By enabling TorGuard VPN’s built-in adblocking, you create a crucial barrier between yourself and the relentless tracking of ad tech companies. Combining this with additional privacy measures, like using privacy-centric browsers and disabling unnecessary location sharing, strengthens your overall privacy strategy. Adblocking is more than just a convenience—it's a vital step in taking control of your online data and protecting your personal information from being exploited.