In these modern times, you can’t think of life without the Internet. Be it for work, entertainment, or education, the internet is a necessity for all of us. But most people don’t know that all of their online activities are under the supervision of their internet providers.
In this article, I would like to through some light on why internet providers track your activities and how can you stop them. So without wasting any time let’s get started.
Table Of Contents
- Can Your Internet Service Provider Spy On You?
- How Do You Know If Your ISP Is Tracking You?
- What Is ISP Tracking? And Why Are They Spying On You?
- How Do I Stop My ISPs From Seeing My History?
- Final Verdict
- FAQs
Can Your Internet Service Provider Spy On You?
Yes, your internet service provider (ISPs) can spy on you and see everything you do on the internet. It doesn’t matter which browser you use, all your activities can be monitored by the ISPs. If you think, using an incognito tab for browsing the internet will provide you privacy then you are totally wrong. I say this because your internet provider can see your private or incognito history as well.
Your WiFi provider can track all the websites you visit, and the type of content you consume on the internet. Not just that, but they also know which device you are using, and can track your current location.
How Do You Know If Your ISP Is Tracking You?
This is unfortunate, but you cannot find out whether your internet provider is actually spying on you or not. But if you notice a fluctuation in your internet speed, for instance, your speed dips while browsing some pages and then it suddenly gets back to usual. It can be a sign that the ISPs might be having a sneak peek into your activities.
What Is ISP Tracking? And Why Are They Spying On You?
ISP tracking can be explained as a process of monitoring your online activities by your internet service provider without your consent. There are various reasons why your ISPs might want to track your activities. Some of the most prominent reasons are listed below.
1. For Advertising Purposes
By tracking your online activities, your service provider can know about your buying preferences and show you ads according to that. This type of advertising is called targeted advertising.
2. For Censoring Content
In most democratic countries, people have the right to say, write, and publish anything on the internet. But not all content is good for the national interest of the country. Hence the government censors such content before it can reach the citizens. Betting, Porn, and Smuggling are examples of some sites that the government always has a keen eye on.
3. Data Retention Policy
In most countries, there is a law for data retention. This means the government makes it mandatory for internet service providers to track and keep records of the user’s data.
How Do I Stop My ISPs From Seeing My History?
Using a VPN is the best solution to stop ISPs from spying on your online activities. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides you with an encrypted network connection. This means the internet service provider will not be able to see your browsing history as long as you are using the VPN.
A VPN is the best way to securely connect to any public network and not just your home or office WiFi. Just like VPN, there are proxy servers available online which can help you stop WiFi providers from seeing your browsing history. A proxy server acts as a middleman between your internet browser and the ISP. It makes your internet browsing experience more secure and private.
So overall, with the help of a VPN and Proxy server, you can browse the internet anonymously. However, some of the VPN and proxy servers may keep a track of your activities for maintaining their own database. Therefore, you must read the terms and conditions of these VPN and Proxy servers before using them.
Final Verdict
After knowing that the internet providers can track all your online activities, it is tough to use the internet the same way you used to before. However, you can’t do anything about it, you can’t legally stop your ISPs to track your internet activities. It is because in most countries the ISPs have the right to monitor their customer’s internet activities for various reasons. However, you can make use of VPNs and proxies to browse the internet in full incognito mode without letting the ISPs track your activities.
FAQs
Who Can See My Internet Activity?
Internet providers, government officials, etc. can see your internet activity.
How To Prevent ISPs From Seeing Your Activity?
You can prevent ISPs from seeing your activity by using a VPN service.
Can You Sue ISPs For Spying On You?
No, you can’t sue the ISPs for spying on you because they have the right to monitor the activities of their customer on the internet.
