I had plans with a friend earlier today and we got to talking about how you are tracked on the web. I was explaining how various networks track you with cookies on the web. These are not the companies that most web users ordinarily think about, like Google or Microsoft (which also do track you) but companies you have probably never heard of, like Adify, Valueclick and Tacoda. Fortunately, most of the reputable networks offer op-outs from their tracking. If you are concerned about being tracked, these links are for you:
- Network Advertising Initiative. NAI is is a cooperative of advertising and analytic companies. This site lets you opt out of a great deal of tracking all in one shot.
- DoubleClick. Owned by Google, DoubleClick is probably the most ubiquitous ad server on the web. You can opt out of their tracking as well.
- Google Analytics. Google Analytics is widely used to track web traffic. I even use it for this blog. This is another place you might want to opt out.
While there are many places you can opt out of tracking, the links above are a good place to start.
