These are the data that your Internet browser is collecting when you use it

[Blexfraptor]

Although perhaps many of you do not know, one of the most significant ways in the current times to filter private data of users when making use of the Internet, is through our web browser.

In fact this filtering to which we refer, can not be even solved by the increasingly po[CENSORED]r VPN or virtual private networks, since all this is foreign to the service they usually provide. Well, to give you a more accurate idea of all this, then we are going to make a summary of the most important types of data that we are making known, unwittingly, to these programs increasingly used in all types of platforms and devices.

Hardware and Software
To begin we will say that as a general rule, the web browser that we use daily, collects a large amount of data about the hardware of our team, as well as part of the software we have installed. In this way the program knows the operating system that we use, our IP address, or the add-ons and extensions we use. At the same time and if we focus on the hardware, here is gathered information as important as the installed CPU, the GPU, or the battery of the equipment.

One of the options to reduce leaks in this regard, is making use of a plugin focused on the privacy of users, such as the well-known NoScript.

Geolocation
This is a section that, as mobile devices have been advancing and gaining in features and versatility, at the same time has been extended. Specifically, we refer to the way in which the web browser itself knows exactly where we are at each moment, all thanks to the geolocation it uses. Thus, a website can accurately estimate our location, even if we have not given access to our GPS coordinates.

Instead, you can use the Google API for these tasks, even if we are accessing the web from a browser on a mobile device. We will say that to avoid this type of actions related to geolocation and that the browser filters the data of our location, we can always use a web proxy to access the websites, among which we can also find several free alternatives.

At the same time if we do not want Google to be able to use the aforementioned API, we will have to disable JavaScript in the software or, once again, use applications such as NoScript

Browsing history
One of the most known types of data that our browser collects about us while we are using it, is the browsing history. Of course we can always delete this navigation data, however it is worth knowing that even then, this history may not have disappeared completely. As an example, in the middle of this year, that is, just a few months ago, it was learned that Google keeps records about the way we use Chrome in relation to the deleted data, even if they were deleted, which includes this history of which we speak.

With everything and with it it will never be more than every so often we make a cleaning of the data that is stored automatically in these browsers.

Mouse movements
One of the most curious types of data we can find and that these programs are able to filter to third parties, are the movements that we constantly make with the mouse, in addition to the clicks that we carry out on the websites that we visit. As a demonstration of this and for you to see this section in action, we recommend you take a look at this free web tool.

Where we have our device
In mobile terminals in recent years, it is more than usual that we find elements such as built-in gyroscopes, since these sensors are used in a multitude of applications, although they are also used to perform monitoring and status tasks, all based on the movements that we make.

Well, these data are collected, among other sections, through our browser, because the software knows if the device has a gyroscope, a compass, or other similar sensors to know where we are at that time, in addition to other details technicians What's more, the program can even know where the terminal is physically: on a table, in a backpack, or in a pocket.

Social network information
As expected, these programs that we are talking about collect personal information about the social networks to which we are connected, all while we move through them and interact with other users. At the same time we will say that the browser is prepared to relate this information collected with other types of data, all this so that advertisers, for example, know where and how to contact us and thus achieve maximum impact and success.

Fonts, language and photographs
On the other hand, we will tell you that these programs also know exactly the sources that we have installed on our computer, in addition to the language in which we are using the operating system. In addition, it is interesting to know that each time we upload a new image using our favorite web browser, it is scanning the metadata of the file to know more about us.

And of course, these metadata can include information such as the location, the resolution of the image, the technical specifications of the file, or even the camera model we use to take the photograph.

Technical information
To conclude, we will tell you that in addition to everything discussed so far, these Internet browsers so widespread today, also collect large amounts of technical data on how we are accessing the web.

These data to which we mention, include the user agent of the browser itself, if we have touch screen support, if the heading "Do not track" or DNT is enabled, the size of the screen, and many other things.