If you’re watching porn on the internet, you may think that you’re doing it in private. In actuality, your habits and the X-rated sites that you visit can be easily tracked and logged. If your IP address is known by the public, your identity can be associated with the device that you’re using.
The Fallacy Of Hiding Your Browsing History
Hiding your browsing history isn’t going to help much either. Firefox, Safari and the Chrome browser broadcast a great deal of information regarding your identity as you browse the internet.
When you visit different pages and websites, you’re actually leaving your “fingerprints”. This is why you’ll begin to see ads on your sidebar that are related to the previous websites that you visited.
The companies from these websites will track and share your online activity so that they can market to you. If you’re going to porn sites between other sites, you can see why someone who is an expert in cybersecurity could determine where you’ve been.
Where Is This Data Stored
It’s likely that most websites have enough of your data to link your account with the fingerprints that are associated with your browser.
For example, if you decide to click on a porn video, a request is sent to a database of the porn site that you are using. This is known as a first-party request. At the same time, you are also sending out third-party requests to various web tracking companies, Google and companies that are associated with advertising pornography.
In essence, the data associated with the personal porn habits that you have could be infiltrated by a hacker and distributed to the public. Are porn companies actually using server space to store your viewing history? Maybe not. However, it’s fair to say that you understand that this is possible.
Imagine if a hacker gains access to a list of porn sites that you have been to and manages to attain the access logs for any of those websites that know your identity.
If they decide to create havoc, they could build a website that allows people to search a database via a person’s Facebook username or with their email and then gain access to their history of browsing porn sites.
Obviously, your browsing habits are not as private as you may think.
Why This Is Important
If you don’t have safeguards put in place when you are using the internet, it’s highly likely that you are being tracked. In many cases, this isn’t for purposes that are malicious. Typically, website developers, which also includes developers for porn sites have become used to relying on tools to boost user engagement with their website and track your preferences.
The porn sites that you visit may not have any interest in collecting or saving any of your data. If you look in their individual site policies, you may even find statements that indicate that they don’t record activity or IP addresses from consumers who are unregistered.
It’s probably safe to say that the porn sites that you visit are not wanting to risk your privacy and have their site shut down. However, it’s the web trackers and data brokers that could create a detailed picture of the type of porn that you consume.
To protect yourself when you click on a link like “bondage fetish,” you may want to use a virtual private network (VPN) to ensure that your movements are kept completely private.
Use A VPN Service And Learn How It Works
If you’re going to be accessing porn videos or other types of pornography when you are online, you’ve learned that your data and browsing habits are vulnerable.
To ensure that your data is secure, it’s better to connect your computer, tablet or smartphone to a VPN service. While you are still using your local network to connect to the web, you are also utilizing a private tunnel that encrypts your data.
The brilliant aspect of utilizing a VPN provider is that your device still acts like it is using your local network, but your IP address is hidden, which allows you to securely access all of your favorite porn sites.
A VPN provider like Surfshark will instantly provide you with data security when you utilize any of their worldwide servers. They have encryption protocols such as OpenVPN and IKEv2 that provide the best security and safety.
You always want to use a VPN provider that utilizes these protocols and AES 256-bit encryption for their network traffic. A kill switch is also a handy feature to look for.
It will quickly drop your connection with a VPN if the provider’s connection ever drops. While this technology is highly reliable, it’s never going to be perfect. This ensures that your private information is never leaked.
Features To Look For In A VPN
Utilizing the service of a VPN is actually quite easy. Once you have an account, you can immediately start using any of their various servers.
A good VPN service will also allow you to utilize different devices. If you ever travel, you may want to use a tablet that you bring with you or free Wi-Fi that’s available in your hotel room.
Whatever the circumstances, you can quickly log on to your VPN service wherever you are located and with different devices, which makes a VPN service extremely versatile.
In addition, some VPNs will also allow you to block ads, trackers and prevent malware. These extra bonuses are something to look for when you are using a VPN service. You have already learned how valuable these type of features can be when you really want to ensure your privacy.
Another crucial feature to look for when you are going to use a VPN service is if they have a no logs policy. Some VPN providers will keep server logs of your activity. Obviously, if these logs were to get into the wrong hands, your porn browsing habits would not be private anymore.
As you can see, if you really want to protect your privacy and porn habits online, you’ll need to utilize encryption technology and arm yourself with a VPN.