< Return to Video

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 - 0:10
    in a way that might freak
    you out in the real world.
  • 0:10 - 0:11
    Imagine
    you're just out,
  • 0:11 - 0:14
    browsing,
    minding your own business.
  • 0:14 - 0:17
    But, from the very first place
    you visit,
  • 0:17 - 0:20
    you get joined
    by one of these.
  • 0:20 - 0:21
    A cookie.
  • 0:21 - 0:25
    He belongs to an advertising
    network or data tracker.
  • 0:25 - 0:31
    In other words, he's a spy.
    -Ah-choo!
  • 0:31 - 0:34
    -What's pesky about cookies
    is they stick with you,
  • 0:34 - 0:36
    allowing nosy companies
  • 0:36 - 0:40
    to tag along to all
    the other places you browse.
  • 0:40 - 0:44
    The more places you go,
    the more cookies you collect.
  • 0:44 - 0:46
    They're how a pair of pants
    you look at
  • 0:46 - 0:51
    in one shop end up following you
    around everywhere you go.
  • 0:51 - 0:52
    Tracker cookies come from
    lots of companies
  • 0:52 - 0:54
    you've probably
    never heard of.
  • 0:54 - 0:58
    But the number-one cookie baker
    is Google.
  • 0:58 - 1:01
    The same company that makes
    the number-one web browser:
  • 1:01 - 1:04
    Chrome.
    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 - 1:12
    So, no wonder Google doesn't do
    much to stop the surveillance.
  • 1:22 - 1:25
    You never know where
    you'll find a cookie.
  • 1:25 - 1:27
    Over time, cookies help data
    companies
  • 1:27 - 1:30
    build profiles
    of your interests,
  • 1:30 - 1:34
    income, favorite places,
    and personality.
  • 1:34 - 1:37
    These profiles can shape
    what you see online,
  • 1:37 - 1:40
    including the prices
    you get charged for products.
  • 1:45 - 1:47
    In a week of regular web
    browsing,
  • 1:47 - 1:52
    you might get tagged by more
    than 10,000 third-party cookies.
  • 1:52 - 1:55
    But it doesn't have
    to be this way.
  • 1:55 - 1:57
    You can use a browser
    that blocks
  • 1:57 - 1:59
    third-party cookies by default,
  • 1:59 - 2:02
    like Mozilla Firefox
    or Apple Safari.
  • 2:02 - 2:05
    Chrome keeps making it harder
    and harder to block trackers
  • 2:05 - 2:08
    because Google has
    a conflict of interest.
  • 2:08 - 2:12
    Switching is the easiest way
    to protect your privacy.
  • 2:12 - 2:14
    Unless you really like surfing
    the web
  • 2:14 - 2:17
    with 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

Follow us:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/washingtonpost
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/washingtonpost/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/washingtonpost/
more » « less
Video Language:
English
Duration:
02:27

English subtitles

Revisions

Our website uses cookies for analysis purposes.