Ghostery — a browser extension that makes your online experience faster, safer and cleaner thanks to the blocking of tracking scripts, cookies and other tracking tools.
Each site and every application is watching our actions. Such surveillance can go beyond the visited resource. And it's made with only one purpose — to show us as many ads as possible and collect data for sale to advertisers.
This is autotranslated version of this post.
Despite the fact that many services have become originally created to protect confidentiality. And others help to protect it when working in the network. It is unlikely in this respect that will change in the foreseeable future. After all, there are two options: to pay a visit to each resource, the money, or pay your data.
Like I said above, the user can partially solve this problem by using services to protect from surveillance. About this I and tell today.
Ghostery — a browser extension that makes your online experience faster, safer and cleaner thanks to the blocking of tracking scripts, cookies and other tracking tools.
What platforms are available
In addition to extensions, the Ghostery mobile browser for Android and iOS. And there is also a project Ghostery Midnight (available on Windows and macOS), which in theory blocks advertising trackers in all desktop applications.
Sorry, Midnight, I tried to run several times since the announcement, and since then it never worked. Therefore, I will discuss the possible extension and mobile browser.
What can Ghostery
Ghostery aims to protect privacy, but to work with the extension it is impossible without the registration in the service. It seems to me very strange.
After installing the extension and register for the service, It immediately begins to work on all visited sites. On the extension icon displays a count of blocked requests from the scripts, and clicking — at the bottom of the page it opens something like a console.
Here in real-time to track the details of all advertising trackers and how they affect the operation of the site. So the data is not updated, you can switch to Freeze.
There are four columns: information about the trackers and the number of requests; distribution of trackers in size and speed; delay in script; overall page size.
When you click on the script you can see the exact addresses of the queries.
And when you click on "See details" Ghostery console opens in full screen for more convenient analysis.
Here already there are three tabs. The first is a copy of the console with the details. The Second Global Trends. Here you can see the total amount of trackers and learn their category: advertising, social networking, Analytics and more.
Tab Tracker Percentage will help to analyze the ratio of advertising scripts to normal with the help of detailed graphs.
Any configuration of extension no. You cannot add a website tracker or the exception. You can not temporarily disable the extension. Anyway affect the operation of Ghostery is not.
Mobile browser
Mobile browser Ghostery created based on Firefox, therefore to tell about its capabilities makes no sense.
Unlike extensions, the browser doesn't block all trackers in a row, but even allows you to set exceptions for individual sites and scripts. By default, it is just advertising and websites for adults.
The browser does not require the accounts Ghostery.
The cost
Have Ghostery is free with the basic tariff protection. Ghostery Plus with extended protection. And Ghostery VPN Premium. The cost of tariffs $5 and $12, respectively.
The differences between the rates reflected in the picture below. The free version blocked browser trackers, ad trackers and custom block settings. Plus version, in fact, adds dimension and block ads and trackers in applications. And VPN — it is VPN.
Ghostery I have left a dual impression. On the one hand, this is probably one of the most popular solutions in this area. And on the other the compulsory registration in the service and no settings.
The developers themselves are trying to monitor the behavior of users on the site. When clicking on any link in the address bar is added the UTM-tag. No, this is nothing serious. But it is very strange for such a service.
If you care about protection of privacy, Ghostery is hardly for you. And if you still want to try this service, first check out their data collection policy.