Why You Are Never Private Online

The internet has come a long way since its infancy. What seemed like an ever-growing haven for geeks and technology enthusiasts has expanded into an inconceivable digital world full of information and mysteries.

However, as we observe further advancements in information technologies, the power of digital structures gravitates towards tech giants that have the resources to control the data on the web. For example, what started as an idea for a search engine, Google utilized the revolutionary idea to become an unstoppable internet services company that manipulates the way we use the web and constantly pushes it to new heights. For non-tech-savvy internet users, Google is the internet: we use an internet browser developed by Google, and in most cases, there is no need to use web addresses - most of the time, everything is taken care of by the almighty search engine.

At first, one of the main appeals of the internet was its anonymity. A space that connects people all around the world without exposing their identity offers valuable freedom and safety for some individuals, but also creates opportunities for criminals to communicate and share dangerous ideas. Internet privacy was necessary to accelerate the development of computer systems and the modernization of the world we see today, but progress and convenience come at the price of privacy and anonymity.

Anything you post can be scraped or hacked. If your data is online, you are never private. Even though we can change an IP address with a proxy server or a chrome proxy extension, that does not prevent digital fingerprints that stay forever on the web, tying your actions to your identity. However, that does not mean that preventive measures are useless. Even a simple chrome proxy extension masks...