Priv3 protects you from being tracked by social networks

Priv3 protects you from being tracked by social networks

We all know that the internet has become saturated with social networking. If you can read it on the web, chances are you can also “Like” it. It’s only natural that, if you share something, Facebook or Google will know that you visited that page. It’s also likely that they’ll use that data to sell advertising. What most of us don’t know, however, is that those same networks can track your visits to many pages even if you don’t click on any sharing buttons. Enter Priv3, a new extension for Firefox that only allows your visits to be tracked when you want them to.

When a social sharing button is integrated into a web page, some code from the corresponding social network is included by that page’s designer. Therefore, if you read a news item about Lady Gaga that has a Like button on it – and you are logged into Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg and friends can track your visit to that page, without any action on your part.

With Like, Tweet, and +1 buttons everywhere, you can start to see the potential for some serious privacy concerns here. Nearly everything you do on the web can be (and likely is) stored on Facebook’s, Google’s and Twitter’s servers. As it helps them sell advertising, why wouldn’t they?

If you’re a Firefox user, the Priv3 extension will block this kind of tracking. So you can read up on the Lady Gaga story and, unless you choose to “Like” it, Facebook will know nothing of your visit. Unless you opt to tweet it, Twitter won’t have a clue. Priv3 will detect clicks to the sharing buttons and activate them when they are needed, so you don’t lose any capabilities here.

In addition to Facebook, Google, and Twitter, the extension also blocks tracking from LinkedIn. The developers say they will add more networks later, if necessary – but it looks like they have the most important bases covered.

Firefox users can check out the source link below to give Priv3 a shot, and take a little bit of your life back from those interested third parties.

More at Priv3