What your internet provider, websites and advertisers see - Fox News

What the report says

Fox News published a consumer technology guidance article by Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson explaining how internet service providers, websites and advertising networks can gather information about people’s web activity even when users do not post online or enter personal details. The report says an ISP can typically identify the sites a customer connects to, the time of use, data volume and an approximate location tied to the user’s IP address, unless additional privacy tools are used.

According to the article, encrypted “https” websites limit what an internet provider can read inside pages or messages, but they do not necessarily conceal the fact that a user connected to a particular site. Websites themselves may collect IP addresses, device and browser information, pages viewed and interaction data through analytics tools, pixels and ad scripts. Fox News also notes that private or incognito browsing mainly prevents local history from being saved on the device; it does not make users invisible to websites, network operators or ISPs.

The article recommends practical steps to reduce exposure, including checking browser privacy settings, disabling unnecessary site permissions for location, camera and microphone access, using privacy-focused browsers or search engines, limiting personal information shared across services and keeping devices updated. It also advises using a virtual private network, especially on public Wi-Fi, because a VPN encrypts traffic between the device and VPN server and can mask the user’s IP address from some third parties.

The report cautions that a VPN is not a complete solution: websites may still recognize users who log in, reuse the same browser or provide identifying information. The broader takeaway is that online tracking cannot be fully eliminated, but privacy-conscious settings and tools can reduce how much browsing behavior is visible to providers, sites and advertisers.