Prevent ISP Tracking
Want to put an end to your Internet Service Provider tracking and recording your internet activity? Use IPVanish to take back control of your internet privacy and stop ISP tracking.
What is ISP Tracking?
ISP tracking takes place when your ISP, or Internet Service Provider, watches and records your online activity. This invasive practice includes the monitoring of your search history, communications, and other activity that occurs when you’re online.
Without the right protection, ISP tracking can log connection data on any of your household devices, impacting your digital privacy.
Why is my ISP tracking me?
ISP tracking is used for a number of reasons:
Data Collection
In most regions, ISPs are legally required to track their customers’ data for safety reasons. In the case of an investigation, ISPs must provide the government with access to a customers’ information. While this is enforced with anti-terroism and crime prevention in mind, it comes at the cost of online privacy for the average internet user, as well as journalists and other important figures in the digital realm. And those who haven’t done anything wrong shouldn’t be treated like criminals or suspects.
Selling Data
Another reason ISP tracking takes place is because data is profitable. Beyond legal requirements, ISPs may collect customer data in order to sell it to advertisers and other third-party companies. Then those companies will turn to targeted advertising using purchased user data – another complete breach of customer privacy.
Bandwidth Throttling
Many ISPs perform ISP tracking to impose bandwidth throttling, the targeted slowing down of internet speed. Providers often claim they use this practice to lighten network congestion, but their true intentions may be to push customers to upgrade their ISP subscription. At any rate, bandwidth throttling occurs when customers use a significant amount of bandwidth, which can be disruptive to those who work from home or rely on the internet for streaming purposes.
What data can my ISP track?
ISP tracking impacts the privacy of almost all your online data. When you’re not using a VPN, your ISP can track and record your:
- Geo-location data
- Email communications
- Social media data
- Financial and health information
- Children’s information
- Social Security numbers
- Web browsing history
- App usage history
- Content of communications
- Timestamp of communications
- Cryptocurrency transactions
What is a VPN?
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a tool used to mask your true IP address, encrypt your data, and prevent ISP tracking.
When you use a VPN, you establish a connection with a secure server of your choice. Once connected, all your internet traffic travels through an encrypted tunnel. Using a VPN protects data by rendering it indecipherable to third parties, but a VPN from IPVanish also provides increased anonymity by altering your IP address.
An IP address is a unique set of numbers issued by your ISP to identify your specific web activity. When you connect to a VPN server, your real IP address is masked with an IP address from IPVanish. Best of all, that IP address is shared with other IPVanish users in real-time. So, your individual activity can’t be traced to you. If you would like to determine your current IP, you can use our “What is my IP address?” tool to find it.
How does a VPN prevent ISP tracking?
The main function of a VPN is to encrypt, or secure, your online traffic. A VPN prevents ISP tracking by hiding your true IP address and scrambling all of your activity so it’s unreadable to your ISP. This way, you’ll be able to browse, message, download, and more online with total privacy.
What else can I use a VPN for?
Using a VPN comes with a number of benefits beyond protection from ISP tracking. IPVanish provides you with:
Public Wi-Fi Safety
Using public Wi-Fi is convenient, but it’s certainly not safe. Anyone using the same shared network has the opportunity to snoop into your device and spy on your activity. Use IPVanish to secure your traffic while using public hotspots.
Safe Website Access
Certain regions around the world impose restrictions on which websites people can access. IPVanish lets you safely bypass this form of censorship by masking your true geo-location, allowing you to restore your rightful access from anywhere with added security.
Online Security
Our internet-connected lives can make it easy for cybercriminals to find their way in. Prevent malicious online activity with the help of a VPN. Whether you’re at home or on-the-go, encrypting your devices makes you less of a target for cybercriminals and protects your data from being stolen.