The internet can be a terrifying place, especially if you are not protected against security risks and threats which can harm your privacy and private files.

With ongoing vulnerabilities and hacks being deployed on innocent internet users, having the right privacy settings set up on your browser is imperative. Here are some top tweaks to ensure your privacy is protected.

Depending on the browser choice you surf the internet with, you’ll need different tweaks & settings. Today we will connect with 3 of the most popular internet browsers: “Chrome, Firefox & Safari” to go through the best tweaks & addons to have to ensure pure privacy while going about your internet surfing.

Google Chrome

Stated by Wired, “There is a reason why Google Chrome continues to be the internet’s most popular browser every year, having taken up 70% of the market share for internet browsers”.

The style of software design that Google Chrome uses to incorporate all Google products & services into a seamless system making all operations effortless, is underestimated.

Google has all products to suit their every user’s need and has them incorporated all into Chrome, making it appear as if Google Chrome has it all.

However, everything has a price; Chrome is not known for being the most private browser globally. After all, it is made by the world’s largest advertising firm. To make Chrome more private, use the following tweaks.

Don’t Sell Your Precious Data To Google.

Yes, I mean what the title says, do not sell your data to Google. What does that mean exactly? You may ask.

Well, start by not allowing Google to see your browsing data. Syncing all the data between its services such as Gmail and Chrome in other devices means enabling seamless transfer of bookmarks and all; however, it does mean shipping your data directly to their servers & storing it there.

To turn off syncing, go into the menu bar, then Settings, and ensure you click the turn-off button next to sync.

Say NO To Personalised Ads

Another way Google love to bypass your privacy is via personalized ads. They collect your data to determine precisely what ads to target you with. You can stop this by disabling sync also. You can also encrypt any sync data you have with a password phrase. Yes, you will need to enter new passwords frequently; however, it does make it way more secure.

Block The Pesky First & Third Party Cookies

Ever feel whatever you search or speak about comes up a day or two later in your searches? These are caused by first- & third-party cookies, as well as your browser and search history. Blocking these will enable you to be much more secure.

To do so, go back into the settings of Chrome, tap on the do not track section of the cookies options, then click advanced, and block third party cookies. To be extra sure, every browser software implementation has an option to delete browser history, clear this and all cookies will disappear.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox, as stated by Mozilla, is “An independent, people-first browser, faster than ever and more private alternative to other browsers such as Internet Explorer & Chrome. ”

Focused on people browsing the internet, Mozilla is a non-profit option. Unlike Chrome, Mozilla is not an advertising firm meaning privacy is integral to their philosophy of browsing.

However, like everything in life, nothing is 100% perfect; hence, these are a few tips to keep your browsing as secure and private as possible with the following tweaks.

Downloading The Privacy Badger Extension

Now personally downloading extensions is not everyone’s go-to for privacy; however, this extension is a must for Firefox users. The Software Development Company that developed privacy badger intended to provide automatic support blocking the sneakiest invisible trackers.

Download and install the extension to see the full benefits. It sends, once installed and in use, a do not track request. If a particular site were not to comply, it blocks that site tracker.

Install the Cookie Autodelete Extension

Yes, another addon. However, without addons in Firefox, there are not many settings to change as it is very secure to begin with. What Cookie Autodelete does is once you visit a site & a cookie is saved onto your computer containing your browsing history. This extension automatically cleans these files making your history & habits of browsing private.

Safari

Safari is Apple’s answer to secure, fast and efficient web browsing experiences. Safari was once only available on Apple devices; now, after some serious app development cost, it is available on all devices.

Apple is known for privacy & security, hence why we had added Safari to the list. However, mentioned on all browser applications above, nothing is perfect, which gives us the great opportunity to tweak the browsers settings and addons to provide us with more secure & private experiences.

These are some ways we can further enhance & optimize Safari for greater privacy.

Turning Off The Light To Cross-Site Tracking

Cross-site tracking is a method of tracking using cookies to store browser session data. This saves everything you do on the browser. This one is very straightforward and acts as a defensive mechanism. Turning off the ability of tracking is as simple as going into the settings of Safari & disabling it. This will stop websites from tracking you around the internet.

Taking Out The Trash

No, I do not mean chucking anything out. We are talking about cleaning up cookies saved by the browser.  It makes it more convenient to have cookies as it keeps data about your session for next time usage; however, it is a way of tracking you. The easiest way to disable tracking via cookies is by going into the browser settings, preferences, security & selecting to block all cookies.

Clearing & Disabling Location, Suggestion & Autofill Engines

The easiest way to be entirely safe once all the mentioned tweaks have been done is by clearing the browser history, cookies & any other session data saved. Go into Safari’s settings & clear all browser history. The next step would be to turn off autofill and suggestion options in Safari’s settings menu. Finally, turning off location services integrated into Safari will make the browser experience way more private.

Recap

All browsers have little tips & tricks to ensure maximum security & privacy is achieved. The browser itself does not matter so much as it is a choice/preference; however, how the browser is set up and what parameters are set are paramount.

Big Kitty Labs is one of the leading software development companies in Columbus Ohio that has been developing applications, websites, and software for over 10 years. Contact us for free discovery and consultation on your next project!