Researchers concluded that large IT-companies, such as Facebook and Google, monitor porn sites users.
Authors of the research, specialists from Microsoft Research, Carnegie Melon University and University of Pennsylvania analyzed 22,484 porn sites and found that 93% of them transfer data to third parties, including cases of access through the incognito mode.“Users are at great risk when such data are available without their consent, and therefore can potentially be used against them. These risks are amplified for vulnerable groups whose porn preferences can be classified as “non-standard ”, they can also affect their social life “, – emphasizethe researchers.
Made by Google and its subsidiaries tracker appeared on 74% of porn sites surveyed by researchers. However, the company denies that its software collects information that is used to create advertising profiles.
“We do not allow Google ads to be placed on sites with adult content, we also prohibit usage of personalized advertising profiles based on users sexual interests. In addition, tags for our advertising services never allow to transmit personal information”, – the company said.
At the same time, Facebook, whose trackers appeared on 10% of analyzed by researchers sites, declined to comment. Although the code that the social network releases to track users, can be embedded in any site without the permission of the company.
Another American technology giant, Oracle, whose trackers appeared on 24% of the surveyed sites, also declined to comment on the survey results.
It is noted that the type of data collected by trackers is different. Sometimes this information seems insignificant, for example, the type of web browser used by the user, operating system information, or screen resolution.
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But, according to experts, these data can be compared to create a unique profile for an individual user, this process is called “fingerprinting”.
In other cases, collected information reveals personal data, such as the user’s IP address or mobile phone number.
At the same time, according to the New York Times web tracking varies by network. Often, users are tracked using cookies, which are pieces of text that are loaded by a web browser while visiting a website.
In other cases, trackers appear as invisible embedded pixels on user’s screen. In majority of cases, these trackers help sites identify and classify regular visitors. However, without the use of specialized software, ordinary users can hardly find out when a porn site is watching them.
In addition, what companies can do with the data on viewing pornography remains a question.
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