Privacy & Security Articles

In-depth guides on VPNs, online tracking, browser privacy, DNS, and digital security — written to help you understand and protect your privacy online.

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How Targeted Advertising Tracks You Across Every Site Online Tracking
Online Tracking

How Targeted Advertising Tracks You Across Every Site

Every ad-supported page you load triggers an auction that broadcasts your data to hundreds of companies in milliseconds, whether or not any of them ever show you an ad. Here's how that auction works, and what courts have said about it.

12 min read
DNS Explained: How It Works and Why It Leaks DNS & Network
DNS & Network

DNS Explained: How It Works and Why It Leaks

DNS translates domain names into IP addresses, and by default it does that in plain text. Here's how a DNS lookup actually works, why it's one of the biggest privacy gaps on the internet, and what encrypted DNS does and doesn't fix.

13 min read
WebRTC Leak: What It Is and How to Stop It Browser Security
Browser Security

WebRTC Leak: What It Is and How to Stop It

A WebRTC leak exposes your real IP address even while a VPN is connected. Here's what WebRTC actually is, why the leak happens at the protocol level, which browsers are affected, and how to test and fix it.

9 min read
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How Targeted Advertising Tracks You Across Every Site Online Tracking
Online Tracking

How Targeted Advertising Tracks You Across Every Site

Every ad-supported page you load triggers an auction that broadcasts your data to hundreds of companies in milliseconds, whether or not any of them ever show you an ad. Here's how that auction works, and what courts have said about it.

12 min read
DNS Explained: How It Works and Why It Leaks DNS & Network
DNS & Network

DNS Explained: How It Works and Why It Leaks

DNS translates domain names into IP addresses, and by default it does that in plain text. Here's how a DNS lookup actually works, why it's one of the biggest privacy gaps on the internet, and what encrypted DNS does and doesn't fix.

13 min read
WebRTC Leak: What It Is and How to Stop It Browser Security
Browser Security

WebRTC Leak: What It Is and How to Stop It

A WebRTC leak exposes your real IP address even while a VPN is connected. Here's what WebRTC actually is, why the leak happens at the protocol level, which browsers are affected, and how to test and fix it.

9 min read
Is Incognito Mode Actually Private? Browser Security
Browser Security

Is Incognito Mode Actually Private?

Incognito mode hides your activity from other people using your device. It does nothing for your ISP, the sites you visit, or your IP address. Here's what it protects, what it doesn't, and what a 2024 lawsuit forced Google to admit in writing.

10 min read
Free VPN vs Paid VPN: Who's Actually Paying For Your 'Free' Connection? VPN & Privacy
VPN & Privacy

Free VPN vs Paid VPN: Who's Actually Paying For Your 'Free' Connection?

Free VPNs don't run on goodwill. We looked at how they actually make money — from bandwidth reselling to a Facebook-owned app that helped decide which startups to acquire — and what the research says about the real risk.

10 min read
How Apps Track Your Location Even When You Say No Mobile Privacy
Mobile Privacy

How Apps Track Your Location Even When You Say No

Denying an app location permission stops the GPS API, not necessarily the tracking. Here's how apps still infer where you are, where that data ends up, and what a $25,000-a-month data feed on 35 million phones taught the FTC.

12 min read
What Are Cookies and How Do They Work? Beginner Guides
Beginner Guides

What Are Cookies and How Do They Work?

Cookies aren't inherently bad, and third-party cookies never actually disappeared the way Chrome once promised. Here's what cookies are, how they work at the protocol level, and what actually tracks you.

10 min read
What Data Does Your Browser Send to Every Website? Browser Security
Browser Security

What Data Does Your Browser Send to Every Website?

Before a single line of JavaScript runs, your browser has already handed a website your rough location, your device type, and your language. Here's everything sent automatically, split into the three layers where it actually happens.

12 min read
Best DNS for Privacy: Cloudflare vs Quad9 vs NextDNS DNS & Network
DNS & Network

Best DNS for Privacy: Cloudflare vs Quad9 vs NextDNS

Cloudflare is the fastest. Quad9 is a nonprofit with the strongest no-logs case. NextDNS gives you the most control. Here's how the three actually compare, plus where Google, OpenDNS, AdGuard, and Mullvad DNS fit in.

11 min read
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