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Privacy is a major concern for many internet users, and one of the ways that your browsing history can be tracked is through your wifi router. While there are legitimate reasons to monitor internet usage in some cases, such as parental controls, there may be times when you want to keep your browsing history private. But how to hide your browsing history from a wifi router and maintain your online privacy? You can hide your browsing history in different ways, such as a VPN or incognito mode.
So if you’re looking to ensure that your online activity remains private from prying eyes, go through the article to learn more tips on hiding your browsing history.
Why Do You Need To Hide Browsing History?
When you connect to a wifi network, you are effectively sharing your internet connection with the owner of the wifi network. This means that the owner of the wifi network may be able to see any data carried over the network, including your browsing history. While some wifi owners may be uninterested in your surfing history, others may be more interested or even hostile. That is why concealing your browser history from the wifi owner is critical.
Privacy Issues
Protecting your privacy is one of the key reasons to hide your browsing history. Your browsing history can expose a lot of personal information about you, including your hobbies, activities, and location. This data can be used to target you with advertisements or even steal your identity. Hide your browsing history to safeguard your privacy and personal information.
Concerns About Security
Another reason to hide your surfing history is for security reasons. Your internet history may contain private information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card numbers. Cybercriminals can steal your identity or perpetrate fraud if this information gets into the wrong hands. You may protect your data and personal information by concealing your browsing history.
How To Hide Browsing History From A Wifi Router?
People are more worried about keeping their privacy while surfing the web now that internet privacy is a big deal. They are looking for ways to hide their browsing information because it will give them more privacy and control over their browsing data. Here are the best ways to hide your browsing data from people who want to look at it:
Use VPN:
The first and most effective way to hide what you’re doing online is to use a trustworthy VPN company. A VPN is the best way to stay anonymous online because it gives you the most security and safety. A VPN keeps prying eyes from watching what you do online by hiding your IP address and location.
In addition, it encrypts the data into packets sent through remote servers in secret places. If someone tries to spy on your network, they will only see jumbled data and won’t be able to find out what you do online.
Use Private Browsers:
Mainstream web browsers are used by advertising businesses to collect data. It’s time to start hiding your browsing activities with the finest private browsers.
These browsers preserve your privacy and anonymity by blocking advertisements, cookies, trackers, and malware and preventing browser fingerprinting. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the finest privacy-friendly browsers:
Your IP address is concealed and your online anonymity is maintained using multilayer encryption. To protect your privacy and prevent trackbacks, it also runs HTTPS Everywhere and NoScript.
It uses HTTPS Everywhere and NoScript to automatically remove browser sessions and block dangerous scripts. Furthermore, the Brave Shield function prevents pop-up advertising from interfering with your browsing experience.
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DuckDuckGo:
Using Smarter Encryption Technology, your connection is automatically upgraded. This enables you to use the encrypted version of the websites and obtain greater anonymity on the internet. Furthermore, the fire tab button lets users wipe their browsing history and keep their surfing habits secret.
The problem with these private browsers is that they must provide true data encryption when used with a VPN. Without encryption, your ISP, other parties, or anyone monitoring your network can see your data and activity.
Use Private Search Engines:
A private search engine is the most dependable method for safeguarding your search history. They are untraceable and use private servers to conceal your search history from anyone monitoring your network. These search engines protect and secure your data by blocking trackers, masking your IP address, and routing it through remote servers.
Among the best private search engines are:
StartPage:
StartPage is a search engine headquartered in the Netherlands that offers consumers strong security and online protection. In 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2015, the search engine got the European Privacy Seal distinction for delivering superior security.
DuckDuckGo:
One of the most popular search engines that employ the Tor network to enhance your online privacy and shield your search history from prying eyes.
Search Encrypt:
This search engine was developed in 2016 by a private firm in Cyprus to ensure ultimate internet security. It employs AES-256-bit encryption and SSL encryption to avoid snooping on your search history.
Swisscows:
A Swiss firm founded it to avoid gathering user IP addresses and sensitive information. It conceals your search history, IP address, and location using encryption technology. Furthermore, it analyzes the user’s search context using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
Searx. me
Searx. Me is an open-source browser that allows anyone to modify its code for maximum web security and privacy. When you access any website, it uses a proxy option to safeguard your identity.
Because these search engines use site-to-site encryption, your data is not encrypted, which concerns privacy-conscious users.
Use Browser Extensions:
A browser extension is a software that adds extra protection and privacy to your browsers. These extensions protect users from monitoring and tracking and allow them to browse the web more privately.
The internet is rife with browser extensions that can assist in achieving the required level of online security. Not all browser extensions, however, are worthwhile to use. The following are some of the most reliable browser extensions:
Privacy Badger
The Electronic Frontier Foundation created Privacy Badger, automatically finding and eliminating trackers and unwanted pop-up adverts.
uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin is a browser-based content blocker that conceals your browsing history by blocking advertisements and trackers.
HTTPS Everywhere
EFF also created HTTPS Everywhere, which makes HTTPS-encrypted connections more secure for websites.
uMatrix:
To ensure a safe and secure browsing experience, it allows users to switch between connections and blocks cookies.
NoScript:
This extension prevents Javascript, Java, Flash, and other plugins from loading on untrusted websites.
You should use extra care when using any of the browser add-ons. There are a lot of extensions in the Google Play Store or Apple Store that collect data and might infect your device with malware despite having excellent ratings.
Use HTTPS Websites:
HTTP is a secure protocol, while HTTPS is a more secure version of HTTP. It encrypts your communication using the SSL/TLS protocol, preventing the website from exposing your information. The principal protocol exchanges data between the browser and a website, ensuring no one can track your online actions.
When data is transferred via HTTPS sites, it is encrypted, unlike normal HTTP sites. Anyone trying to monitor the data will only see jumbled data.
Furthermore, it also prevents attacks such as phishing, breaches, malware, and MITMs.When you visit a website, check if it is HTTPS secured; if not, avoid using it.
Use Incognito Mode:
Another effective method for concealing your surfing habits is to enable private/incognito mode from the browser’s toolbar. When you use the browser in private/incognito mode, none of your data is saved on your device or in your Google accounts.
It turns off third-party cookies that track your movements across websites. It also protects your surfing history by removing temporary browsing data after each session. This ensures that no one knows about your browsing behavior and gives you online anonymity.
The most significant disadvantage of the private/incognito mode is that it only provides surface-level protection. It implies that even if you delete your cookies and browsing history, your IP address remains exposed and can be traced back to you. As a result, you are subject to internet spying and hacking.
Set Your Privacy Preferences
Any social networking site, such as Facebook, tracks your browsing history and maintains track of your online actions. The obtained data is later shared with third parties that target you with advertisements and generate revenue.
Aside from that, Facebook algorithms are always acquiring useful information about you. You can reduce some of the risks of being tracked by Facebook by changing your privacy settings.
Turn off your GPS, avoid giving up too much personal information, and turn off the tracking option from the settings menu when using such sites. The procedure is as follows:
Access the settings menu > Privacy > Tracking > Disable Tracking Apps.
You should also turn off your Facebook activity, preventing further tracking and allowing you to remove all previous past activities. The following are the ways to turn off this feature:
Navigate to the Settings menu and select Settings & Privacy > Permissions. Off-Facebook Engagement > A Brief History
You can turn off the tracking option if you use Google and do not want your device to be tracked. The procedure is as follows:
Navigate to https://myactivity.google.com/ > Activity Settings > Choose the activities you want to disable.
Users can still view adverts if they modify their privacy settings. Because Google relies on adverts for money, it cannot avoid tracking your online activity. As a result, employ encryption software and update your privacy settings.
Who Else Can Track My Browsing History?
Aside from your ISP and the person who owns your wifi router, advertisers, social media sites, and government agencies can also look at your browsing data. These parties track user data by using cookies, web beacons, and browser tracking. Use a VPN, a private browser, or a search engine to keep your information safe.
How To Clean Your Browsing History From A Wifi Router?
To clear a router’s browsing history, go to the router’s admin panel and delete the logs directly.
- Open your web browser.
- Type in the IP address of your device and press Enter. Most routers are set to 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 when first set up. If this doesn’t work, look on the back of the router for the information. It should be there with the router’s IP in the search bar.
- Use the username and password for your router to log in. If you still need to change your logins, your computer will show you what they are by default. Most of the time, it’s either admin/password, admin/1234, admin/admin, or root/root. Login screen for a router.
- From the menu, click Status or Advanced.
- System Log or Administration-Event Log
- Clear the Log
Remember, Unless you have permission or access to the router, you can’t clear router logs.
How To Protect Your Browsing History?
You can go above and beyond the above actions to ensure your browsing history remains private. Consider these best practices for web browsing.
Delete Your Browsing History
Clearing your browsing history is a quick and easy approach to keeping your browsing activities private. Most web browsers enable you to delete your browsing history with a few mouse clicks. You can also configure your browser to erase browsing history when you close it automatically.
Remove Cookies
Cookies are tiny files that websites that you visit save on your computer. They track your browsing habits and customize your online experience. They can, however, be used to track your internet activities and harvest personal information. Disabling cookies can help preserve your online privacy.
Controlling Data Usage
Limiting your data usage can prevent your ISP from tracking your online behavior. You can accomplish this by installing a browser extension that prevents advertisements and other material that uses your data. A data usage tracker can monitor your online activities and ensure you stay within your data limit.
Safeguarding Your Login Information
It is critical to safeguard your login credentials to keep your online accounts secure. Use strong, distinct passwords for each of your accounts. You can also use a password manager to save your login information securely.
How To Hide Your Browsing History On iPhone?
Many believe using an iPhone is safer than an Android phone. However, this is different. Safari, Apple’s built-in privacy browser, has serious compatibility and software update concerns.
You’re mistaken if you believe using a private mode will help you. The Safari browser has been discovered to collect and sell user browsing history, even when in private mode. Malicious pop-up advertising, trackers, and browser fingerprinting are also sufficient to compromise your online privacy.
Furthermore, the advanced tools and methods hackers use nowadays can compromise any device or account. This is why it is critical to conceal browsing history.
An iPhone user should browse anonymously using a combination of private browsers and browser plugins. A private browser and privacy plugins let people achieve maximum digital privacy by blocking advertisements, cookies, and trackers.
With all this, consumers can utilize a genuine VPN provider to provide anonymity and online security by masking their IP address and encrypting their data. With all these techniques, you can conceal your iPhone’s browsing activities.
How To Hide Your Browsing History On Android?
You can hide your search history on Android phones by utilizing privacy browsers and add-ons such as HTTPS Everywhere and NoScript. They protect your privacy by preventing invasive advertisements, cookies, trackers, and other browser privacy issues.
You can also utilize the greatest private search engines, such as SearchEncrypt and DuckDuckGo, which do not trace your online searches and keep you anonymous.
A trusted VPN service, in addition to a private browser and search engine, is recommended. It encrypts your data and masks your IP address for complete online anonymity.
You can even disable Recent Search History on your Android phone to preserve your search history. Here are the actions to take:
Navigate to System Settings > Tap the Google button in the Accounts section.
Tap Search > Accounts & Privacy > Show Recent Searches > Uncheck the option next to it.
No one can now access your recent Android device searches.
How To Hide Browsing History From Google?
Standard browsers, particularly Google, are advertising corporations’ most prominent data-harvesting tools. It uses cookies to track your online behavior, record your activities, and make money by advertising. Google also tracks you based on your web searches, location, preferences, and information you upload.
Unfortunately, using the Google browser in incognito or private mode alone may not conceal your IP address. In addition, Google had previously been fined $5 billion for tracking user actions in Incognito mode.
To hide your Google browsing history
- Use a reputable VPN service provider.
- Use private browsers or browse in private/incognito mode.
- Log out of all of your accounts.
- Share as much basic information about yourself as possible.
- Turn off your GPS.
- Delete your search history. To delete Google Chrome search history:
Launch Google Chrome > Select More from the menu. Tap the three dots in the upper right corner of your browser. Navigate to the History menu > Select the History option > To remove your full search history, click Clear browsing data. (If you wish to delete particular searches, choose the boxes to the left of separate search listings and click on Delete).
You can obtain additional anonymity online by completing all of these methods.
Final Thoughts
Online privacy is a major concern for many internet users, and your browsing history being tracked by your wifi router can be unsettling. However, you can hide your browsing history and maintain your online privacy. Using a VPN or incognito mode is just a few ways of keeping your online activity private from prying eyes. Whether you’re looking to protect sensitive information or maintain your privacy, hiding your browsing history is an important step towards safeguarding your data.
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