This is how Google's Chrome lets the cookies track you, imagined in real life
-
0:01 - 0:04-Chrome lets web trackers
follow you around, -
0:04 - 0:10in a way that might freak
you out in the real world. -
0:10 - 0:11Imagine
you're just out, -
0:11 - 0:14browsing,
minding your own business. -
0:14 - 0:17But, from the very first place
you visit, -
0:17 - 0:20you get joined
by one of these. -
0:20 - 0:21A cookie.
-
0:21 - 0:25He belongs to an advertising
network or data tracker. -
0:25 - 0:31In other words, he's a spy.
-Ah-choo! -
0:31 - 0:34-What's pesky about cookies
is they stick with you, -
0:34 - 0:36allowing nosy companies
-
0:36 - 0:40to tag along to all
the other places you browse. -
0:40 - 0:44The more places you go,
the more cookies you collect. -
0:44 - 0:46They're how a pair of pants
you look at -
0:46 - 0:51in one shop end up following you
around everywhere you go. -
0:51 - 0:52Tracker cookies come from
lots of companies -
0:52 - 0:54you've probably
never heard of. -
0:54 - 0:58But the number-one cookie baker
is Google. -
0:58 - 1:01The same company that makes
the number-one web browser: -
1:01 - 1:04Chrome.
Could I get a drip coffee? -
1:04 - 1:05-Drip coffee.
-
1:05 - 1:08-Google makes most of its money
by targeting ads. -
1:08 - 1:12So, no wonder Google doesn't do
much to stop the surveillance. -
1:22 - 1:25You never know where
you'll find a cookie. -
1:25 - 1:27Over time, cookies help data
companies -
1:27 - 1:30build profiles
of your interests, -
1:30 - 1:34income, favorite places,
and personality. -
1:34 - 1:37These profiles can shape
what you see online, -
1:37 - 1:40including the prices
you get charged for products. -
1:45 - 1:47In a week of regular web
browsing, -
1:47 - 1:52you might get tagged by more
than 10,000 third-party cookies. -
1:52 - 1:55But it doesn't have
to be this way. -
1:55 - 1:57You can use a browser
that blocks -
1:57 - 1:59third-party cookies by default,
-
1:59 - 2:02like Mozilla Firefox
or Apple Safari. -
2:02 - 2:05Chrome keeps making it harder
and harder to block trackers -
2:05 - 2:08because Google has
a conflict of interest. -
2:08 - 2:12Switching is the easiest way
to protect your privacy. -
2:12 - 2:14Unless you really like surfing
the web -
2:14 - 2:17with a whole bunch of nosy
strangers.
- Title:
- This is how Google's Chrome lets the cookies track you, imagined in real life
- Description:
-
Chrome has become like spyware for the company, allowing more tracker cookies than any other browser. The Post's Geoffrey A. Fowler imagines how that might feel in real life, and gives advice for more privacy-conscious web browsing. Read more: https://wapo.st/2RpoTFA. Subscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube: https://wapo.st/2QOdcqK
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- English
- Duration:
- 02:27
Irvin Chen (MozTW) edited English subtitles for This is how Google's Chrome lets the cookies track you, imagined in real life |