{"id":241670,"date":"2021-05-04T13:40:56","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T10:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/do-isps-track-and-sell-your-browsing-data\/"},"modified":"2021-05-04T13:40:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T10:40:56","slug":"do-isps-track-and-sell-your-browsing-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/do-isps-track-and-sell-your-browsing-data\/","title":{"rendered":"#Do ISPs Track and Sell Your Browsing Data?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 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-6a40b23017644\" 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-6a40b23017644\" 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\/do-isps-track-and-sell-your-browsing-data\/#Are_You_in_the_US_or_Elsewhere\" >Are You in the U.S. or Elsewhere?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/do-isps-track-and-sell-your-browsing-data\/#Checking_US_ISP_Privacy_Policies\" >Checking U.S. ISP Privacy Policies<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/do-isps-track-and-sell-your-browsing-data\/#The_FTCs_2019_Investigation_Is_Ongoing\" >The FTC\u2019s 2019 Investigation Is Ongoing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/do-isps-track-and-sell-your-browsing-data\/#How_You_Can_Protect_Your_Privacy\" >How You Can Protect Your Privacy<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Do ISPs Track and Sell Your Browsing Data?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-726190 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/businessman-with-money.jpg?width=1200&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A businessman throwing money around.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"555\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/portrait-happy-young-businessman-throwing-out-1070556401\" data-credittext=\"Dean Drobot\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/portrait-happy-young-businessman-throwing-out-1070556401\">Dean Drobot\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When you\u2019re shopping for a VPN or otherwise looking into your privacy, you\u2019ll quickly run into claims that your internet service provider is collecting your data and selling it. Is that even true, though? What are the rules that govern what ISPs can and cannot do with your data?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_You_in_the_US_or_Elsewhere\"><\/span>Are You in the U.S. or Elsewhere?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Whether or not your data is being sold largely depends on your location. If you\u2019re in a country that\u2019s a member of the European Union, for example, you don\u2019t have to worry. The <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> Data Protection Regulation expressly forbids your ISP from even collecting your data without your express permission, let alone selling it.<br \/>\nIn fact, around the world, it\u2019s often illegal for ISPs to gather data and sell it to third parties. For example, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/technology\/us-fcc-internet-privacy-legislation-marketing-ads-canada-1.4046512\">Canada<\/a> doesn\u2019t allow it, nor does <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aussiebroadband.com.au\/blog\/the-state-of-internet-privacy-in-australia-what-your-isp-can-actually-see\/?__cf_chl_captcha_tk__=7c94b6f95e436845013a21a760b5daa60e6935b3-1618902706-0-AbwFM9-MNPJ3cgulTDhru0PB8-_wccZhyNxbKQs6-XSLh9u7Hime2I5mIYpwJvM7NwD8jg7dtXsQQhou1vC5CeEe1inmuwAbB_tR_LzwIJktSG_CRrrzFhcbJh05m6cL9uuwFdKTKhmePrfUECAg1JnRyZSOlSXr_CloQN_m_BDeMSNTvVAAudTld2oqt54SrJLK5QZeUC3qrlukYyvPeXuE95fRs9_fa-GdvYcTVt1P5He8n2GLCCmgZSPYFNfhTzRK_-sxzd8VmKpmnAi6oOhlopcUWRngFoIUOpDFA1e4HB_onbJtvbYfLNmAew0Cd4TUaTylzdUNTtxMf5nsZwoOJXV5AUfzaW4PrC-GmzygkrDMVevDu-ijsAODHtJzgEBUXPJ5xcxJj01bC8dchlMlSc6wpduKf7y18xK7Fti10wexUZXl-MyKsPb7cUWOOo-H7racTfGLah8zz4EyWpi3-EVsdHbQUaFHMdI7ioiDBqff4NiqxTRV_pMXfnDTcyXqGTBoZz0yQx4GwjDCuEYla_hXdmLdr21lfX4s-wBqRW2Z4AjG7TarnIp8GuPbnazWSvmBTaaF_v3ywxhD1Ylf_7i9Hfg7aKQa3_1oTqJ57Q-f1Ov2vcVYM1QkdTNyqOtwIRILhK3U2Ydx4G8nk_CRxp2-EOVZI1pOOZucX2N6K6ymNwCCROz-rp2i1OyYFyXG8nhdwZwv8Xx5LQf1ALdeNPNHFbRBRrhC6oy6SaJFK0xu-pZhU5RglMkNmDnbtQ\">Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In the United States, however, things are very different. ISPs have been allowed to sell customer data to third parties since 2017, when <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/tech-policy\/2017\/03\/for-sale-your-private-browsing-history\/\">Congress passed a resolution to eliminate FCC privacy rules<\/a> that would have banned the practice. Where before an ISP needed to ask you before putting your personal data and browsing history on the market, with the stroke of a pen, this need for permission was revoked.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, ISPs are required to provide customers with an opt-out clause, which usually takes the form of a page on the ISP\u2019s website, where users need to make clear that they don\u2019t want their data sold. The default setting, so to speak, is yes.<\/p>\n<p>The uproar over this change was massive in the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>, and VPNs (and VPN review sites) hawked their wares as the best way to respond to this new, intrusive legislation. In response, however, ISPs were quick to pledge not to sell customer data, and enshrined those promises in their privacy policies.<\/p>\n<p>After all, just having the right to do something doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019ll do it, right?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Checking_US_ISP_Privacy_Policies\"><\/span>Checking U.S. ISP Privacy Policies<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-726192 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/comcast.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A Comcast sign outside a company building.\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/eugene-march-31-2017-branch-sign-615166817\" data-credittext=\"Joshua Rainey Photography\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/eugene-march-31-2017-branch-sign-615166817\">Joshua Rainey Photography\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A tour of the privacy policies of all the major ISPs in the United States shows that all of them promise not to sell your data. However, some of the language used does stand out a little. For example, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/corporate.comcast.com\/stories\/privacy-with-comcasts-xfinity-internet-service\">Comcast Xfinity<\/a> promises not to sell information that <i>identifies<\/i> you. While that could just be the legal department hedging its bets, it\u2019s not quite the same as promising not to sell data.<\/p>\n<p>AT&amp;T uses far less fuzzy language: In its <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/about.att.com\/csr\/home\/privacy\/full_privacy_policy.html\">privacy policy<\/a>, under \u201chow we collect your information,\u201d the company makes it clear that it also collects third-party information about you, including your credit report. We would have liked to find out more details, but the company didn\u2019t respond to our queries. AT&amp;T does pledge not to sell any data, although the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/\">Electronic Frontier Foundation<\/a> begs to differ and has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/7\/16\/20696222\/att-location-data-tracking-lawsuit-electronic-frontier-foundation\">sued the company<\/a> for selling location data.<br \/>\nT-Mobile, however, has gone another route this year and announced that, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.t-mobile.com\/privacy-center\/our-practices\/privacy-policy\">starting<\/a>\u00a0in April of 2021, it will target customers of their mobile plans with ads based on their browsing behavior. Customers can, of course, opt out of having T-Mobile sell their data as per the law, but it remains to be seen how many will do that.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_FTCs_2019_Investigation_Is_Ongoing\"><\/span>The FTC\u2019s 2019 Investigation Is Ongoing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In 2019, likely worried about the many reports it was getting about data sales and other privacy violations by the large ISPs, the Federal Trade Commission decided to open an investigation into these practices. It sent out <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/press-releases\/2019\/03\/ftc-seeks-examine-privacy-practices-broadband-providers\">orders<\/a> to Comcast, T-Mobile, Google Fiber, AT&amp;T, and Verizon as well as the mobile arms of some of these companies.<\/p>\n<p>We reached out to a few of the ISPs that received orders as well as those that confirmed that they had complied with the FTC order. However, the FTC itself told us\u00a0in an email that it is still looking into the matter. The investigation hasn\u2019t yet resulted in anything.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_You_Can_Protect_Your_Privacy\"><\/span>How You Can Protect Your Privacy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re worried about ISPs accessing and selling your data and you\u2019re not in the U.S., chances are that you don\u2019t have to be\u2014although you might want to search the web for information about the laws and practices in your specific country. If, however, you\u2019re in the United States, then you may want to keep an eye out.<\/p>\n<p>Even if your ISP currently states in its privacy policy that it doesn\u2019t sell data, there\u2019s really nothing preventing them from changing the policy and doing so anyway\u2014if they aren\u2019t already.<\/p>\n<p>Until Congress can be persuaded to change this, all that you can do is sign up to a virtual private network and prevent data from being collected by your internet service provider. However, a VPN isn\u2019t a magic bullet:\u00a0Despite what many VPN providers will tell you, you\u2019ll also need to use incognito mode more often.<\/p>\n<p>In short, a VPN lets you reroute your internet connection to its own servers, which are shielded from your ISP\u2019s gaze (read our article on how VPNs work). Using one means that your ISP can see that you\u2019re connecting to a VPN, but not what you\u2019re accessing through the VPN. This means that, theoretically at least, your browsing is private and there\u2019s no information for your ISP to profit off of.<\/p>\n<p>If that sounds good to you, then check out <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxnzmft.com\/?offer=3monthsfree&amp;a_fid=howtogeek&amp;data1=content&amp;data2=724472\">ExpressVPN<\/a>, our favorite VPN service\u2014although, if you want lasting change, we recommend that you give your representative in DC a call or an email.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\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 like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/724472\/do-isps-track-and-sell-your-browsing-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Do ISPs Track and Sell Your Browsing Data?&#8221; Dean Drobot\/Shutterstock.com When you\u2019re shopping for a VPN or otherwise looking into your privacy, you\u2019ll quickly run into claims that your internet service provider is collecting your data and selling it. Is that even true, though? What are the rules that govern what ISPs can and cannot&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":241671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/businessman-with-money.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241670","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=241670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}