When I was a kid, my parents taught me not to share my real name online in case people I interacted with were predators. What they didn’t teach me was how much information online platforms and websites collect about us during everyday use. 

I didn’t begin to understand how much the internet tracks us until I took some marketing and advertising courses. Even then, it was hard to wrap my head around digital surveillance until I tested anti-tracking tools and saw how many trackers were blocked on the websites I visited.

Now, I’m committed to using tools to minimize the information websites collect about me. I’ve compiled a list of those tools -- from Bitdefender’s Browser Guard extension to Norton’s fully separate safe browser -- to help you make the same commitment.

These tools prevent websites from downloading things like ad trackers onto your device to prevent targeted ads and data sharing with advertisers, government agencies or data brokers. Many also block ads. These tools don’t hide your internet activity from your internet service provider or prevent apps from tracking you. For that, you’ll need a VPN.

How the internet tracks you

The websites you visit track your activity in various ways. The most common way is through cookies. Cookies are text files that contain basic information related to your browsing activity, like your preferred login settings or products you’ve previously viewed on an e-commerce site. Websites use this information to optimize your experience on repeat visits. 

First-party cookies (those installed by the site you’re visiting) are often used for benign purposes like helping you log back in faster or keeping items in your shopping cart. Third-party cookies (those installed by third-party apps on sites you’re viewing), also called cross-site cookies, are generally used for targeted advertising. Cross-site cookies sometimes also have more sinister purposes, such as selling your data to spammers or scammers.

The websites you visit may carry other types of trackers, such as:

• Super cookies: An advanced form of cookies built to track your activity across multiple browsing sessions. Super cookies are stored in atypical areas of your browser, making them more difficult to eliminate than regular cookies.
• Web beacons: Also called tracking pixels, web beacons are almost-invisible images connected to web pages or emails to gather information about your online activities. Beacons embedded in emails may also be able to track your IP address.
• Fingerprinting: These trackers use information like your device type, operating system and the browser you’re using to give you a digital footprint. A profile is built around this fingerprint and used to track your behavior every time you open your browser.

Together, these trackers collect an enormous amount of personal and sensitive information about who you are and your online behavior, from your Google searches to your social-media interactions and your activities on specific websites. This information is most commonly used to create targeted ads or sold to data brokers without your consent. It can also be used to create social engineering scams that exploit and manipulate you into giving up money or access to key accounts.

The browser safety tools you can use to prevent tracking

Most browser safety tools are browser extensions, such as Bitdefender’s Browser Guard, which block various trackers. They may also screen sites you visit for signs of scams, malware or other dangers. 

Alternatively, you can use specialty browsers like Norton Private Browser, which do many of the same things and sometimes offer extra features like note-taking tools. A few companies even offer desktop apps that enhance privacy across multiple browsers at once.

Bitdefender Anti-Tracker or TrafficLight

Compatibility

Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari (TrafficLight only)

Pros

• Can be installed for free or as part of a paid Bitdefender package
• Effectively blocks a variety of trackers, not just ad trackers
• Taskbar display provides a full display of the trackers blocked
• Can be paused on specific websites
• TrafficLight extension filters out malware
• Link scanner and safe search for TrafficLight users

Cons

• Not compatible with Chromium browsers like Opera

How it protects you

Bitdefender’s Anti-Tracker extension automatically detects and blocks various trackers on every website you visit. The extension keeps a running list of blocked trackers, dividing them into categories slightly different from those I listed above:

• Ad trackers follow general visitor behavior
• Customer interaction trackers analyze user interaction with elements like support chat
• Essential trackers monitor web page functionality
• Site analytics trackers interpret search-engine traffic and related activity
• Social-media trackers evaluate user activity and engagement across social-media platforms

You can pin Bitdefender Anti-Tracker to your taskbar to see the number of trackers it blocks in real time. Clicking the logo reveals a detailed breakdown of the trackers in each category.

Bitdefender Anti-Tracker also lets you pause the anti-tracker while browsing a specific website, something you can’t do with comparable tools from companies like Malwarebytes. You can do this either temporarily by blocking trackers during a single browsing session, or permanently by adding a website to a permanent exceptions list.

Bitdefender TrafficLight offers all of the same functionality as Bitdefender Anti-Tracker, plus malware and phishing protection. The TrafficLight link scanner further protects you by scanning all URLs, including those in search results, for signs of malicious activity. Search results are then marked with green, yellow or red icons to identify their security level.

How to get it

You can download Bitdefender Anti-Tracker for free or as part of a Bitdefender cybersecurity suite, which will include other tools like Bitdefender’s excellent antivirus software and privacy monitoring. 

Bitdefender TrafficLight, on the other hand, is a separate extension that must be downloaded on its own -- but it’s also free. TrafficLight is also compatible with Safari, unlike Bitdefender Anti-Tracker.

Malwarebytes Browser Guard

Compatibility

Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari

Pros

• Can be installed for free or as part of a Malwarebytes cybersecurity suite
• Blocks various trackers beyond standard advertising trackers
• Offers some malware protection
• Blocks scam websites and pages
• Lets you control what is being blocked
• Provides real-time data on the number of trackers being blocked

Cons

• Not compatible with Chromium browsers like Opera

How it protects you

Malwarebytes Browser Guard blocks three categories of threats: ads/trackers, malware and scams. Blocking for all three categories is automatically enabled, so you don’t have to fiddle with the settings, but you can use the control panel to change what’s being blocked if needed.

The Browser Guard taskbar icon displays the number of trackers blocked on every website you visit, with the option to view the exact files in the Blocked Items list. You can click through to the dashboard for even more granular controls, including the option to turn off notifications when Browser Guard blocks malware. Again, most users will be fine leaving the defaults in place, but I appreciate having these options.

You can’t temporarily pause Browser Guard on one website, so you’ll have to turn it off for your entire browser. However, you can create a list of sites that are permanently allowed to install trackers on your device. This is fairly straightforward, though a bit more involved than the comparable process in Bitdefender Anti-Tracker, requiring you to open the Browser Guard dashboard in a separate tab.

How to get it

You can visit the Malwarebytes Browser Guard page and download the extension for free. You can also get a more advanced version of Browser Guard, which lets you block any content you don’t want to see -- like religious or political content -- bundled into any paid Malwarebytes plan. 

These packages also include high-quality antivirus software and a wide range of other digital safety tools, which you can learn about in my Malwarebytes review.

Norton Private Browser

Compatibility

Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android

Pros

• Built-in safe search, plus the option to switch to your preferred search engine
• Blocks various ad trackers and other spyware
• Prevents you from opening scam websites and other sites with malicious intent
• Built-in Norton password manager, with more advanced safety protocols than password management tools in browsers like Chrome and Firefox
• Quick-access notes app, calculator and other tools not included in regular browsers

Cons

• Requires you to download a separate browser rather than being compatible with your existing browser

How it protects you

Norton Private Browser offers four layers of protection:

• Web shield: A scanner that detects and blocks fake and/or dangerous websites. Web shield also blocks phishing, malware and malicious downloads.
• Privacy Guard: A comprehensive tool for blocking ads and trackers, with settings to control how much it blocks. You can view the number of trackers and ads blocked on pages you visit via the Privacy Guard icon in the taskbar.
• Password manager: Norton’s password manager with AES-256 encryption to help you create secure passwords for every website and keep those passwords safe.
• Safe search: A search engine that scans the URLs of search results and displays green, yellow, or red icons to indicate the sites’ safety levels. (However, this search engine has an unusually high number of sponsored links, so you may want to switch to a different one; I recommend DuckDuckGo for privacy.)

Norton Private Browser’s side panel features additional tools like a notes app, calculator and world clock. This sidebar can be customized to include quick links to social-media platforms and other frequently used websites.

How to get it

You can get Norton Private Browser for free from the Norton website. It’s also included in all Norton cybersecurity bundles, which provide additional digital safety tools like antivirus software, dark web monitoring and secure cloud backups. Read my full Norton review to learn more about these cybersecurity suites.

AVG AntiTrack

Compatibility

Windows, MacOS

Pros

• Can be connected to multiple browsers at once
• Blocks numerous types of trackers
• Creates a false digital fingerprint to further obscure your identity

Cons

• No free version available

How it protects you

AVG AntiTrack is downloaded directly onto your computer and can be connected to Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Notably, AVG AntiTrack can block trackers on all of these browsers at once, without requiring you to download separate extensions. AntiTrack’s browser cleanup tool can further improve browser privacy by deleting your browser history, cookies and cache, digging deeper than regular browser cleanup tools to ensure nothing is missed. 

AntiTrack’s system privacy tools make it easy to control what, if any, data your operating system and apps are allowed to collect about you. You won’t get this functionality from any of the other free anti-tracking tools I’ve mentioned, though Malwarebytes’ free malware scanner includes a Windows optimization toolkit that lets you control some privacy settings.

How to get it

You can buy AVG AntiTrack on its own or as part of the AVG Ultimate cybersecurity suite. AVG Ultimate also includes AVG’s top-notch antivirus software and AVG TuneUp, a program designed to help you reduce digital clutter and optimize your computer’s performance.

Privacy Badger

Compatibility

Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Brave

Pros

• Scans search-engine results to declare sites safe or unsafe
• Blocks a variety of trackers, including outgoing link trackers on Google and Facebook
• Click-to-activate buttons for potentially useful content like social-media widgets

Cons

• Not available for Safari

How it protects you

Privacy Badger is a browser extension that uses a two-step process for protecting your digital privacy. The first step is sending the Global Privacy Control signal to opt you out of data sharing, and the Do Not Track signal to opt out of being tracked. If a tracker fails to comply with these requests, Privacy Badger moves on to the second step: blocking the tracker entirely. All of this happens near-instantly.

Privacy Badger displays the number of trackers blocked on every website in the taskbar, and you can click on the number to see the full list. Each blocked tracker is paired with a slider you can toggle to either block the tracker entirely, only block cookies or allow the tracker to function. This function conveniently allows access to tracker-dependent functions -- like connecting your Google account to log into a third-party site -- without forcing you to accept other trackers on the site you’re visiting.

If you visit a website with potentially useful trackers, like social-media widgets on blogs you visit, you’ll see a “Click to Activate” button. This lets you choose whether to interact with the content and take on the risk of being tracked by those widgets.

How to get it

You can download Privacy Badger for free. 

DuckDuckGo browser

Compatibility

Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS

Pros

• Blocks ad trackers and cookies
• Specialized Duck Player prevents algorithmic tracking on YouTube
• Built-in DuckDuckGo search with anti-tracking technology
• Email protection

Cons

• Forces you to switch to a new browser

How it protects you

DuckDuckGo started as a privacy-first search engine that doesn’t save, track or share your search history. This privacy-first focus extends to the DuckDuckGo browser, which uses multiple layers of anti-tracking tech to protect you from cookies, link tracking and digital fingerprinting. These protocols prevent trackers from loading into your browser at all, rather than just preventing them from tracking your activity after they’ve loaded.

The Duck Player lets you watch YouTube videos without participating in the algorithms for recommended videos or targeted ads. I really appreciate this feature, but there's a downside. Without an algorithm in play, there are no recommended videos and therefore no way to autoplay videos. This makes Duck Player less than ideal for running videos in the background while I work.

The Fire button is another standout feature, letting you erase all browsing data in a single click. You can Fireproof some websites to protect your login information or session data when you use the Fire button, so you won’t have to re-log into essential accounts after cleaning up your browsing data.

DuckDuckGo email protection lets you mask your email address with an “@duck.com” domain. The service then forwards any email received at this address to your real inbox, letting you receive communications without revealing your private email address or subjecting yourself to email trackers.

How to get it

You can download DuckDuckGo for free. You can also purchase DuckDuckGo Pro for access to a VPN, personal data removal services and basic identity theft protection.

Keep yourself safe online

Targeted advertising and data sales are big business -- but you don’t have to be part of it. You can keep your information private with a free browser extension like Bitdefender Anti-Track, Malwarebytes’ Browser Guard or Privacy Badger. Or you can take your protection to the next level with more intensive tools like Norton Private Browser, AVG AntiTrack or the DuckDuckGo browser.

These anti-tracking tools are only one layer of protection. For enhanced privacy, we recommend combining these tools with a high-quality VPN. You can also purchase a cybersecurity suite from a company like Bitdefender or Malwarebytes to access features like privacy monitoring, which helps you understand and control where your data is available online.