There is a famous cartoon from a 1993 edition of The New Yorker that depicts a dog sitting in front of a computer screen, speaking to another canine seated on the floor. The caption, spoken by the one in front of the computer, reads: 鈥淥n the Internet, nobody knows you鈥檙e a dog.鈥�
The cartoon alludes to a once-held perception of online anonymity, but since the recent hack of the Ashley Madison infidelity matchmaking website, online privacy 鈥� and the lack thereof 鈥� has become the digital issue du jour. And while coverage of the hack means a greater number of people have now become aware that any information they put online is never completely safe or guaranteed to be private, few realize just how far from anonymous our online lives are in reality.聽
I get proof of this every time I click over to YouTube. When the video I鈥檝e chosen to watch is preceded by a commercial, about one time in five the advertisement is from a Squamish car dealership or the Sea to Sky Gondola. Now, when people in Iceland or Ohio click the same video, they don鈥檛 get to see the same Squamish commercial, but rather one from some business in their local area. That鈥檚 because YouTube knows where you live. They use your IP address (Internet protocol) to identify your real location, and then serve you up ads based on that information. So the Internet knows where you live.
Then there are cookies. No, not the chocolate chip kind, but rather small computer files sent by web sites you visit that are usually stored in a user鈥檚 web browser. These files are used to basically create an 鈥渁nonymous鈥� profile of you, so 鈥� yes, you guessed it 鈥� advertisers can serve you up more precise advertisements while you surf the web. If you, say, visit the Canucks鈥� website, well then chances are you鈥檙e more than likely male. CNN? Well, you must be of a certain age. Worst of all, these sites you visit, called first-party sites, actually sell or let third parties use all the data they collect about you鈥� for more advertising, of course. So, the Internet knows what kind of person you are鈥� or at least your web surfing habits.聽
That鈥檚 why if you look up something on Amazon, suddenly you start seeing that same product advertised on half the sites you visit. Oh, and let鈥檚 not forget about Google. Do you use Google to search for stuff on the Internet? If you do, then you should know that the company tracks all your searches. Not only do they keep track, they connect your IP with the search so as long as you use the same Internet line to connect to the web, there is no way for you to get away from that list. And Google Analytics is a program most webmasters install with the sole purpose of tracking all the information from their site鈥檚 users. It lets the webmaster know your web browser, operating system, where you live (city and country) and more. Creepy, eh?聽
Even the folks who give you your web access 鈥� like Shaw or Telus 鈥� keep logs of everything you do online and keep it connected with your IP, which is connected with your account, name and address. Law enforcement has subpoenaed that info in the past to solve crimes and get convictions.聽
And do you use the free wi-fi from hotels and coffee shops? Well, it is free because they are also mining data, seeing where you go, what you do and all your online habits. Worse yet, these free wi-fi spots are pretty unsafe, and anyone connecting to the same network who has a little skill can hack into what you are doing and compromise your information. Oh, and let鈥檚 not even mention all the information about yourself that you willingly give away on social media like Facebook鈥� age, marital status, etc. Anyone with a Facebook advertising account has access to all that info, too.
And it is just going to get worse, unfortunately, as companies try to find more precise and targeted ways to serve you up advertising. But for now, you can try to reduce how much they know about you with certain web browser add-ons like Adblock, as well as increasing privacy settings on social media and enabling private browsing whenever possible. You can even pay companies to wipe some data from the Internet for you. But nothing you do will completely protect or obscure your digital fingerprints.聽
So, you may not have signed up for an Ashley Madison account and had your information hacked, but the Internet still has a pretty good idea of who you are鈥� and it knows you鈥檙e not a dog.
