“I always feel like somebody’s watching me”

You ever wonder what it really means when you accept a cookie (not a literal cookie) but the pop up ones that you get on a site when you visit?

Yeah me, too. So I decided to see who is actually stalking us secretly when we surf online. As part of our assignment we were required to use ‘Disconnect’ to identify the number of trackers on each website. What I found out, was pretty shocking! SO. MANY. TRACKERS, just to look up online for a gym sweat pant?

I have statistical data backed up with screenshots to give you a rough estimate on the number of watchers on each site, who quite literally keep a watch on your every move.

The highest number being taken by…..????

…

….

Drumroll…

Amazon!

Yes, the A to Z shopping website that probably every person who has access to the internet has browsed. It has a whopping 35 trackers.

Here are some examples of the trackers I found on other websites:

These are just some few numbers, and remember that the trackers change depending on the time spent, location, whether you’re logged in or not, and many factors.

Amazon was the most surprising with 35. However, atleast for platforms like Tiktok, Youtube or social sites I felt like the number would be higher, but it was not. Surprisingly, CRA- a government website also had a couple trackers which was not seen coming. News channels, of course, have a higher share of trackers too, owing to the ad driven nature and data collection for content.

Overall, crazy observation and insights, all thanks to the assignment and Disconnect, for showing us the reality of these data hungry sites.

Next time you click ‘Accept Cookies,’ just remember: there’s a whole squad watching.”