Feel free to track them tracking you by using these tools.
In my last post I mentioned that you could pick any corporation and it's a sure bet that they are tracking your activities on their website. Looking through their source code often reveals the analytics tools in use, and some of their tactics. However, going one step further to use a packet-sniffer, javascript debugger, or browser plugin of some sort allows you to quickly see if a particular tool is in use. It also allows you to see some of the things they are tracking about you.
The list of "Inspection Tools for Measure" listed below presents a solid list of tools you can use to monitor the data that is being gathered with each page you view, each video you watch, each search you make, and really anything else you do online.
I have used about half of them, and am trying out a few others. They all have their strengths and limitations, for example HttpFox (tool #3 below) is great for tracking multiple items throughout a visit but you have to be using Firefox to use it. Charles (tool #4 below) is a great tool to track activity across browsers, but it is only free for 30 minutes at a time.
The screen shot below shows two ways to see whether a page is tracking you using Google Analytics. The first is just looking at the source code for 'UA-' on the example page of http://mozilla.org. The second is using GA? (tool #16 below), which is as simple as looking at the little icon in the add-ons bar to see if it is in color or if it is greyed out. Hovering over will also give you a pop-up confirming one way or the other.
This next example shows the user-friendly tool called WATS (tool #2 below) in action on WWE.com. You can see that once it is installed in Firefox, you just click on the magnifying glass icon in the top right of the browser and it opens the tool on the left side of your browser. You can keep it open as you browse to ESPN.com, SkullCandy.com, Disney.com, or any other major brands you want to examine exactly what they are tracking about you. For the WWE example below, I have circled a text value that is "First Visit". Sometimes the data will be intelligible, other times not as much.
This post isn't a tutorial on each of the tools, nor is it saying that you will be able to see all the details about what is being tracked on you. And of course the main use for the tools below is for debugging and testing when you know exactly what each variable is meant to track. But it is interesting to review different tactics and tools in use. If you intend on applying for an analytics opening at a company, wow them at the interview by familiarizing yourself with their tracking practices before you go in.
Please use the comments section to discuss your favorite debugging and monitoring tools. Mention any other tools missing from the list, and of course you can up-vote your favorites.Happy tracking of the trackers!
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| Image Source: Scot Ritchie on Netplaces.com |
The list of "Inspection Tools for Measure" listed below presents a solid list of tools you can use to monitor the data that is being gathered with each page you view, each video you watch, each search you make, and really anything else you do online.
I have used about half of them, and am trying out a few others. They all have their strengths and limitations, for example HttpFox (tool #3 below) is great for tracking multiple items throughout a visit but you have to be using Firefox to use it. Charles (tool #4 below) is a great tool to track activity across browsers, but it is only free for 30 minutes at a time.
The screen shot below shows two ways to see whether a page is tracking you using Google Analytics. The first is just looking at the source code for 'UA-' on the example page of http://mozilla.org. The second is using GA? (tool #16 below), which is as simple as looking at the little icon in the add-ons bar to see if it is in color or if it is greyed out. Hovering over will also give you a pop-up confirming one way or the other.
 |
| Example 1: Mozilla.org's source code showing Google Analytics tracking, and GA? Firefox add-on showing GA is installed. |
This next example shows the user-friendly tool called WATS (tool #2 below) in action on WWE.com. You can see that once it is installed in Firefox, you just click on the magnifying glass icon in the top right of the browser and it opens the tool on the left side of your browser. You can keep it open as you browse to ESPN.com, SkullCandy.com, Disney.com, or any other major brands you want to examine exactly what they are tracking about you. For the WWE example below, I have circled a text value that is "First Visit". Sometimes the data will be intelligible, other times not as much.
 |
| Example 2: Using WATS on WWE.com to see SiteCatalyst variables being tracked about your visit |
Please use the comments section to discuss your favorite debugging and monitoring tools. Mention any other tools missing from the list, and of course you can up-vote your favorites.Happy tracking of the trackers!
Inspection Tools for measure
View more lists from Chris Brinkworth
Sources:
Sources:
- Spies Image by Scot Ritchie: http://www.netplaces.com/kids-spies-puzzles-activities/chirp-squeak-and-grrrr-animals-that-spy/whos-watching-who.htm
- Inspection Tools for Measure: http://list.ly/list/AD-inspection-tools-for-measure
Interesting content. Great resources for online privacy buffs.
ReplyDeleteFirebug, great for website debugging and js decoding.
ReplyDeleteCharles is best for expert QA of tags
Ghostery is the best Chrome plug in for high level analytics QA (What anaytics tracking is on this page)
I love the sound of Ghostery. I might test it out and it could be a good blog post topic all by itself. Thanks, Kris!
DeleteKris, I explored Ghostery further here: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html. Thank you for the great suggestion. Let me know if I missed any of the key pieces of the tool.
DeleteWhat is the takeaway for a consumer if they know what a site is tracking about his/her viewing habits?
ReplyDeleteThe takeway is covered here: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html. You can block the 1,351 different tracking tools individually or entirely using Ghostery.
Deletevery cool details! Love that we can know what they are doing but hate that we really can not stop it.
ReplyDeleteYou can stop it to a certain extent! Read http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html to learn about Ghostery.
DeleteIt is kind of creepy how they are tracking us, but that is the world today. Everything is online and therefore can be tracked. However, at least we can track them too!
ReplyDeleteI use Charles Proxy everyday at work and when I first got started using it, it was enlightening to me to see just how many tags were firing with each page load! I've learned to love Charles as you can display the tag list clearly with all label values in a clean interface. I frequently filter out the garbage tags which I'm not interested in and have even used it to add additional labels and values to the tag before sending it to my analytics platform. This allows me to actually track the data which I am testing from tag fire through processing and into the interface in order troubleshoot and validate the entire data path. I know fiddler is a similar tool and very popular in the analytics industry. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeletegreat info...
ReplyDeleteNow I'm going to be worried every time I go to a new website.
Robb, you can sleep at night (or during your web-surfing sessions), by using Ghostery: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html
DeleteI think my next post will be about how to block them from tracking you. There are some good tools out there to help anonymize you. Thanks for the feedback, everybody.
ReplyDeleteHere you are: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html I don't go into detail about Do Not Track, though the link is at the first of the post. I really like what I found with Ghostery.
DeleteGreat stuff, wasn't aware of these tools. Thanks.
ReplyDeletemy favorite is Ghostery http://www.ghostery.com/
ReplyDeletethat made me delete other the kind of tools from my browser (Chrome)
Thanks, Keiki! I explored Ghostery and learned a lot. I shared my findings in my next blog post here: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html
DeleteThere was a story in the news recently (working at a media clipping company I see lots of news!) about how some companies will raise the price on an item depending on how many times a person looks at it! So for instance if there are some airline tickets that you are looking at and you keep returning to the same website, or a pair of shoes you keep looking at, the price will go up because they can see you are super interested in that item! But the price only goes up for you. Another person who only looks once and buys will pay less. It has a name and I'm thinking it's illegal??! I didn't know we could spy on them too. That might be an interesting thing to track.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback, Livis. My next post helps you know how to block tools that companies use when they are trying to take advantage of you: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html
DeleteYorudante rules!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I will start using some of the packet sniffing tools you presented. I had no idea you could track the trackers over the web.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this article. I think we usually realize we are being "spied" on, but I didn't realize there were tools that showed exactly what was being pulled from the site. Great information.
ReplyDeleteLiz, thank you for the feedback! Check out my next post, which is a follow up to this one. It shows you how to thwart the spies: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html
DeleteI don't want to comment because I feel like I am being watched. :) I always felt like somebody's watching me, and now I know I don't have any privacy!
ReplyDeleteRob, you can begin to reclaim your privacy by using Ghostery, as covered here: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html
DeleteGreat post
ReplyDeleteInteresting findings. I am going to use some of the tools you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteHow can they collect the data without consent? Do they view your "click" as consent?
ReplyDeleteIn the U.S. there aren't laws that require explicit consent yet (opt-in). Tracking in most case is set to on, by default, though you can use tools like Ghostery (outlined here: http://dauofu.blogspot.com/2013/02/adventures-in-ghostery.html) to block a lot of the tracking.
DeleteEurope has enacted some laws that more explicitly require you to opt in.