14 Sep 2017

Sometimes you want to look at porn, Google a really dumb question or order something online without being bombarded with ads about similar products later. Whatever you’re doing online, we all know that nothing is really private. But if you’re using a shared computer or know that other people will be snooping later, it’s always worth doing what you can to keep your internet history private.

1. Always use incognito

Putting your browser in private browsing or incognito mode means disabling your browsing history and web cache. It’s pretty handy because it means whatever you’re searching for won’t automatically be logged and you won’t have to stress about clearing your history later.

However, just because you’re in incognito doesn’t mean you’re not being tracked. While your browser (e.g. Google) won’t record your activity in their history, other sites will and whatever you do isn’t totally private. Incognito doesn’t make you anonymous but it does give you a bit more breathing room if you’re using your mates laptop.

Basically, incognito will hide your porn searches from your mum and not much else when you’re using your laptop at home.

2. Turn off tracking

It’s no surprise that businesses like Google are tracking literally everything that you do. If you’re logged into your accounts across all your devices (like your phone and laptop) then Google is keeping logs of everything including where you travel and your entire Youtube history.

It can be helpful–it means you get tailored ads targeted at you which are usually pretty close to the mark with what you want. At the same time, it’s always a bit unnerving to know that you’re being tracked and if you want to keep your internet history more private you’ll want to turn it off. Depending on what you’re using there’s different ways to turn it off but here’s a handy little guide to stop Google tracking.

If you’re using a work or school email remember that sometimes you won’t be able to change the settings so it’s always worth making sure you’re logged into your personal email account before doing anything.

3. Don’t do sketchy shit at work/school

It’s pretty simple, if you don’t want to get caught out, don’t do the sketchy shit on a school or work computer in the first place. While you might think you’re getting away with it, there’s no sure fire way to hide anything from your boss when you’re using company tech. If you absolutely must do some embarrassing Googling and you can’t wait until you get home, at least use your phone.