{"id":143748,"date":"2020-12-30T00:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-29T21:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is\/"},"modified":"2020-12-30T00:12:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T21:12:00","slug":"opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is\/","title":{"rendered":"#\n  Opinion: Private browsing online isn\u2019t as anonymous as you think it is"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af55a31539f6\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af55a31539f6\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is\/#Anyone_who_can_see_your_internet_traffic_can_still_see_your_browsing_activity\" >Anyone who can see your internet traffic can still see your browsing activity<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is\/#How_it_works\" >How it works<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is\/#Reasons_to_use_it\" >Reasons to use it<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is\/#What_it_doesnt_do\" >What it doesn\u2019t do<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is\/#Whats_in_a_name\" >What\u2019s in a name<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/opinion-private-browsing-online-isnt-as-anonymous-as-you-think-it-is\/#Lorrie_Cranor_Hana_Habib\" >Lorrie Cranor Hana Habib<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#<br \/>\n  Opinion: Private browsing online isn\u2019t as anonymous as you think it is<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Anyone_who_can_see_your_internet_traffic_can_still_see_your_browsing_activity\"><\/span>\n  Anyone who can see your internet traffic can still see your browsing activity<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000003920\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       Many people look for more privacy when they browse the web by using their browsers in privacy-protecting modes, called \u201cPrivate Browsing\u201d in Mozilla Firefox, Opera and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le Safari; \u201cIncognito\u201d in Google Chrome; and \u201cInPrivate\u201d in Microsoft Edge.<\/p>\n<p> These private browsing tools sound reassuring, and they\u2019re popular. According to a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/duckduckgo.com\/download\/Private_Browsing.pdf\" class=\"icon none\">2017 survey<\/a>, nearly half of American internet users have tried a private browsing mode, and most who have tried it use it regularly.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       However,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/system\/files\/conference\/soups2018\/soups2018-habib-prying.pdf\" class=\"icon none\">our research<\/a>\u00a0has found that many people who use private browsing have misconceptions about what protection they\u2019re gaining. A common misconception is that these browser modes allow you to browse the web anonymously, surfing the web without websites identifying you and without your internet service provider or your employer knowing what websites you visit. The tools actually provide much more limited protections.<\/p>\n<p>Other studies conducted by the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/internet\/2019\/10\/09\/americans-and-digital-knowledge\/\" class=\"icon none\">Pew Research Center<\/a>\u00a0and the privacy-protective search engine company\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/duckduckgo.com\/download\/Private_Browsing.pdf\" class=\"icon none\">DuckDuckGo<\/a>\u00a0have similar findings. In fact, a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/daveywinder\/2020\/06\/03\/google-chrome-privacy-lawsuit-could-you-get-a-5000-payout-incognito-mode-class-action\/#21c2e7191485\" class=\"icon none\">recent lawsuit against Google<\/a><br \/>\n        GOOG,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/205453964\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-0.98%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n      \u00a0<br \/>\n        GOOGL,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/202490156\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-0.91%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n       alleges that internet users are not getting the privacy protection they expect when using Chrome\u2019s Incognito mode.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_it_works\"><\/span>How it works<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>While the exact implementation varies from browser to browser, what private browsing modes have in common is that once you close your private browsing window, your browser no longer stores the websites you visited, cookies, user names, passwords and information from forms you filled out during that private browsing session.<\/p>\n<p>Essentially, each time you open a new private browsing window you are given a \u201cclean slate\u201d in the form of a brand new browser window that has not stored any browsing history or cookies. When you close your private browsing window, the slate is wiped clean again and the browsing history and cookies from that private browsing session are deleted. However, if you bookmark a site or download a file while using private browsing mode, the bookmarks and file will remain on your system.<\/p>\n<p>Although some browsers, including Safari (from Apple<br \/>\n        AAPL,<br \/>\n        <bg-quote field=\"percentchange\" format=\"0,000.00%\" channel=\"\/zigman2\/quotes\/202934861\/composite\" class=\"negative\">-1.33%<\/bg-quote><br \/>\n      ) and Firefox, offer some additional protection against web trackers, private browsing mode does not guarantee that your web activities cannot be linked back to you or your device. Notably, private browsing mode does not prevent websites from learning your internet address, and it does not prevent your employer, school or internet service provider from seeing your web activities by tracking your IP address.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Reasons_to_use_it\"><\/span>Reasons to use it<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>We conducted a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usenix.org\/system\/files\/conference\/soups2018\/soups2018-habib-prying.pdf\" class=\"icon none\">research study<\/a>\u00a0in which we identified reasons people use private browsing mode. Most study participants wanted to protect their browsing activities or personal data from other users of their devices. Private browsing is actually pretty effective for this purpose.<\/p>\n<p>We found that people often used private browsing to visit websites or conduct searches that they did not want other users of their device to see, such as those that might be embarrassing or related to a surprise gift. In addition, private browsing is an easy way to log out of websites when borrowing someone else\u2019s device \u2014 so long as you remember to close the window when you are done.<\/p>\n<p>Private browsing provides some protection against cookie-based tracking. Since cookies from your private browsing session are not stored after you close your private browsing window, it\u2019s less likely that you will see online advertising in the future related to the websites you visit while using private browsing.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>Additionally, as long as you have not logged into your Google account, any searches you make will not appear in your Google account history and will not affect future Google search results. Similarly, if you watch a video on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a> or other service in private browsing, as long as you are not logged into that service, your activity does not affect the recommendations you get in normal browsing mode.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_it_doesnt_do\"><\/span>What it doesn\u2019t do<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>Private browsing does not make you anonymous online. Anyone who can see your internet traffic \u2014 your school or employer, your internet service provider, government agencies, people snooping on your public wireless connection \u2014 can see your browsing activity. Shielding that activity requires more sophisticated tools that use encryption, like virtual private networks.<\/p>\n<p>Private browsing also offers few security protections. In particular, it does not prevent you from downloading a virus or malware to your device. Additionally, private browsing does not offer any additional protection for the transmission of your credit card or other personal information to a website when you fill out an online form.<\/p>\n<p>It is also important to note that the longer you leave your private browsing window open, the more browsing data and cookies it accumulates, reducing your privacy protection. Therefore, you should get in the habit of closing your private browsing window frequently to wipe your slate clean.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_in_a_name\"><\/span>What\u2019s in a name<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>It is not all that surprising that people have misconceptions about how private browsing mode works; the word \u201cprivate\u201d suggests a lot more protection than these modes actually provide.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1145\/3178876.3186088\" class=\"icon none\">a 2018 research study<\/a>\u00a0found that the disclosures shown on the landing pages of private browsing windows do little to dispel misconceptions that people have about these modes. Chrome provides more information about what is and is not protected than most of the other browsers, and Mozilla now links to an informational page on the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/support.mozilla.org\/en-US\/kb\/common-myths-about-private-browsing?as=u&amp;utm_source=inproduct\" class=\"icon none\">common myths<\/a>\u00a0related to private browsing.<\/p>\n<p>However, it may be difficult to dispel all of these myths without changing the name of the browsing mode and making it clear that private browsing stops your browser from keeping a record of your browsing activity, but it isn\u2019t a comprehensive privacy shield.<\/p>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/lorrie-cranor-399487\" class=\"icon none\">Lorrie Cranor<\/a> is a professor of computer <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> and of engineering &amp; public policy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/hana-habib-866787\" class=\"icon none\">Hana Habib<\/a> is a graduate research assistant at Carnegie Mellon\u2019s Institute for Software Research. This was first published by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" class=\"icon none\">The Conversation<\/a> \u2014 \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/private-browsing-what-it-does-and-doesnt-do-to-shield-you-from-prying-eyes-on-the-web-142445\" class=\"icon none\">Private browsing: What it does \u2013 and doesn\u2019t do \u2013 to shield you from prying eyes on the\u00a0web<\/a>\u201d  <\/em><\/p>\n<div data-layout=\"inline\n              \" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n        media-object\n        type-InsetDynamic\n          inline\n    scope-web|mobileapps\n  article__inset\n        article__inset--type-InsetDynamic\n          article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dynamic-inset-container article__inset__dynamic\">\n<style>\n    .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"] {\n        height: 1px;\n        margin-bottom: 5px;\n    }\n    .at16units .bleed .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"] {\n        height: 1px;\n    }\n    body.at12units .bleed .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"] {\n        height: 1px;\n    }\n    body .inline .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"],\n    body .offset .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"],\n    body .header .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"],\n    body.at8units .bleed .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"] {\n        height: 1px;\n    }\n    body.at4units .inline .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"],\n    body.at4units .offset .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"],\n    body.at4units .header .wsj-interactive.generic-iframe-embed[name=\"\"] {\n        height: 1px;\n    }\n<\/style>\n<p><iframe class=\"wsj-interactive generic-iframe-embed\" name=\"\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.edu.au\/content\/142445\/count.gif\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"wsj-article-caption\" itemprop=\"caption\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>      <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Lorrie Cranor Hana Habib\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Lorrie_Cranor_Hana_Habib\"><\/span>Lorrie Cranor Hana Habib<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B21003575-02D4-D4B5-4572-DF50F59F4D9F%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# Opinion: Private browsing online isn\u2019t as anonymous as you think it is &#8221; Anyone who can see your internet traffic can still see your browsing activity Many people look for more privacy when they browse the web by using their browsers in privacy-protecting modes, called \u201cPrivate Browsing\u201d in Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Apple Safari;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}