Today, the average netizen worries about tracking. This issue is forlorn and has been accumulating since a decade ago. However, despite scrutiny and vigilance, nothing seems to change. Many entities actively partake in data mining and tracking. Even your everyday websites and popular apps deploy trackers to collect more information on the user and prepare a digital profile. Thus, people have decided that a solution is long overdue, and this is nothing other than a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Many VPN providers penetrated the digital market to provide quality internet privacy and security, but some also employed trackers.
Since the inception of VPNs, the foreground has changed, as individuals can at least protect themselves against unwanted intrusion. They have proven themselves reliable. However, just because a VPN claims to care about your safety doesn’t mean it truly does. What would you do if the same products that vow to protect your actions and identity secretly record everything? This defeats the purpose of having a VPN in the first place. Thus, today’s article will focus on VPN trackers and everything you need to know.
What is a tracker?
Before we begin, you must understand what trackers are. As the name suggests, a tracker can follow your activities on the Internet. Traditionally these trackers are in website cookies, but we will cover this later. For now, readers must understand that a vast majority of websites and apps use trackers, one way or another. No sooner do you visit a website or grant specific permission to an app, the tracker gets activated. This tracker will stalk you, without fail, anywhere you go on the internet, collecting data.
This data gets sold frequently, and entities that gather it can use it for targeted marketing. But some use it for malicious purposes, such as people or companies peddling it over the dark web. Reports have also reflected that mined data can also potentially manipulate voters. Thus, many people make money by tracking you, though most individuals don’t get directly affected by such tracking. Therefore, they don’t think of how it can harm them and don’t seek online privacy. However, data mining can be damaging, and we advise users to take care of their online health.
Note — We have a detailed article on how someone can misuse your IP address, just one example of how tracking can have devastating results.
VPNs that use trackers are no good
VPNs are supposed to prevent tracking. They are there to help you protect your privacy and fight data mining. The allure of VPN lies in its ability to hide users’ identities on the net. But sadly, such services can also turn around and employ trackers within their user base to make a quick buck. They fool customers into using their product and tentatively collect data coursing through their networks.
Free VPNs are such services, as they don’t charge for the product. Although they provide subpar service, they too have to maintain servers and keep the network running. Then how come they are still providing service at zero cost? What is their business model, and how are they making a profit? A company is never a charity. No business organization would offer services for free. Thus, when a VPN is gratis, chances are it is gaining profit elsewhere. What other avenue can be more lucrative than tracking and data mining?
On another note, many popular vendors also employ VPN trackers. First, they would claim to have a no-logging policy. Yet, on the other hand, they would sell user data to the highest bidder. Users need to refrain from such vendors. But how do VPNs engage in tracking, and which VPN trackers do they employ? Find the answers below.
First party tracker vs Third-party tracker
First, we have to state that there are two different trackers at play. First-party trackers are cookies that websites use to store relevant data. These cookies can remember things like your preference, region, language settings, items in the shopping cart, and so on. Webpage admins use them to collect data and understand user behavior. They then further study it to figure out how to keep users on the website longer. Thus, first-party trackers aren’t that harmful.
They are similar to trackers used in a VPN website. We can even say that first-party trackers help websites provide you with a richer experience. Users also love the functionality these trackers bring to the table. Hence, like other websites, a VPN can also use first-party trackers to save your settings or display account-specific information, among other quality of life improvements. This is undoubtedly beneficial to the user.
Third-party trackers, on the other hand, are vastly diverse. They are mainly spies. Often a malicious third party creates and installs it to collect your data for misuse. As such, when you come across such trackers by visiting a suspicious website, they get attached to your browser and follow you across the websites you visit. The glaring difference between a third-party tracker and a first-party one is that the former is solely motivated by money-making from analyzing your online behavior instead of improving it.
In simple words, third-party trackers exist to help corporates push targeted marketing and other nefarious agendas. This tracker is hard to safeguard against. If a VPN only deploys third-party trackers on the website, there is still hope. But trackers embedded in software can lead to devastating results.
Third-party VPN trackers are more dangerous, and here’s why
From everything we pointed out, you can conclude VPNs that use third-party trackers are more harmful. Such VPN trackers are so sophisticated and cast such a wide net that they can easily develop a digital profile on you without relying on PII (Personally identifiable information) like an IP address. They can use a huge amount of data to target you, something that can block your access to specific services. They can even use it for browser/digital fingerprinting, rendering any attempt at anonymity useless.
Hence, if you think that just because your VPN isn’t leaking PII, you’re safe, then think twice, because third-party trackers don’t rely on it. Today, technology is more advanced, and several tracking methods permit potential misuse. Thus, do not trust a VPN with third-party trackers, especially within the software.