What do you mean by “tracker”? Are cookies and trackers the same thing? – Pocket Geek Privacy

A cookie is a text file that a website downloads to your browser as you are visiting it. The stored information acts like a “unique identifier” that helps a website “remember” you when you visit next time around. It is therefore a kind of tracker.

While cookies are the most commonly known form of online tracking, there are many other techniques used to track people’s online activity.

We use the term tracker as a general term that includes commands, scripts or cookies, embedded in websites or mobile application.

While trackers can be very useful in some cases (for example they allow you to keep browsing on a website without having to re-enter your password on every single page) some versions of them can be very intrusive and possibly harmful.

Pocket Geek Privacy focuses on 6 categories of trackers. We categorized them by purpose:

Advertising: Technologies used to profile users and their interests in order to serve them with targeted advertising.

Analytics: Technologies gathering data for audience measurement purposes. Analytical trackers typically do not collect sensitive personal information and are not directly involved in serving targeted advertising.

Analytics/Survey: Technologies enabling online research surveys and opinion polls. Typically they are not directly involved in serving targeted advertising.

Device exploiters: Device Exploiters are usually small software programs designed to gain covert access to your digital device where they can track and copy your personal data including login user IDs and passwords. They can then hold you ransom or purposely alter the behavior of the affected device and/or abuse its resources.

Social/Advertising: Often in the format of widgets, these technologies are enabling social networking interaction (most popular being sharing, liking, discovering) while also profiling users in order to serve them with targeted advertising.

Social/Analytics: Often in the format of widgets, these technologies are enabling social networking interaction (most popular being sharing, liking, discovering).

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