(You can also check out our roundups of browser-based VPNs to try If that's not enough and you want to take your privacy to the next level, consider trying one of the virtual private networks CNET has reviewed that work with all browsers. Other universal options that can boost your privacy include disabling your browser's location tracking and search engine autocomplete features, turning off password autofills and regularly deleting your browsing history. Although its search results may not be quite as useful or deep as Google's, DuckDuckGo is still pretty close - and it's long been favored by the privacy-minded for its refusal to track user searches. For instance, try the privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo. But despite Google's reliance on ad revenue, Chrome engineers are working on rolling out a new privacy-preserving ad-targeting technology called Topics, which the tech giant is testing as a replacement to its failed FLOC project.įor all of the browsers listed here, one quick way to give yourself a privacy boost is by changing the default search engine. For the Brave browser, privacy is a core goal, and Mozilla and Microsoft are touting privacy as a way to differentiate their browsers from Google Chrome. Privacy adds another dimension to the competition and to your browser decision.Īpple has made privacy a top priority in all of its products, including its Safari browser. , with Google pushing aggressively for an interactive web to rival native apps and Apple moving more slowly - partly out of concern new features will worsen security and be annoying to use. Their goal? To build a richly detailed user profile so they can target you with more tailored, clickable and thus profitable advertisements.Īpple and Google are in a war for the web Incidents like Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018 elevated privacy protection on Silicon Valley's priority list by revealing how companies compile reams of data as you traverse the internet. One of the best and easiest ways to start is by adjusting some of your browser settings. You can take your online privacy into your own hands and outsmart that online tracking, though. Browser developers are making privacy more of a priority than ever, but they still may not be doing as much as you'd like in fighting pervasive ad industry trackers.

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