An online tool allows users to see exactly what kind of detail Facebook, Google, and Instagram are keeping about the digital online activities of users.
Visitors to website vpnMentor.com can see which apps tracks certain data points, and it can be narrowed down to specifics such as WiFi strength and their location.
Popular dating site Tinder, for example, knows the time, date and number of exchanges you have online.
Others, including Facebook, the most popular social media platform in the world, even track your phone’s battery level and signal strength.
The findings show that apps can even ignore ‘Do not track’ requests from mobile devices, and these include Netflix and online dating apps Hinge and Happn.
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A new site allows users to see exactly what kind of detail social media sites like Facebook, Google, and Instagram keep about your online activity. The image shows all the sites that are included in the tool found on vpnMoniter
Facebook can tell if its emails to user’s email accounts have been opened, and a wealth of information about the status of the device and signal being used to access the app.
These include data about local Bluetooth signals, nearby Wi-Fi access points and even nearby mobile phone masts.
The tech giant can even finds out your home address based on online activity, along with Instagram.
Both also had access to facial recognition.
A vpnMentor spokesman said: ‘[The tool] is based on strict research, which have been clipped from the companies sites.’
Facebook can tell if its emails to user’s email accounts have been opened, and a wealth of information about the status of the device and signal being used to access the app. The image shows some of the details that the app tracks about its users
Online dating websites have access to users location, which is usually required to detect nearby users of the app and to suggest possible matches.
More than half the sites listed on vpnMentor, including Tinder, Match and Happn, are also able to gain access to numerous hardware and software information about a device.
These include the operating system, timezone, signal strength and location data even when the app is not in use.
But according to vpnMentor, the dating app Happn only keeps track of when members are ‘in close proximity and where they were when they crossed paths with another user’.
More than half the sites listed on vpnMoniter, including Tinder (pictured), Match and Happnn, are also able to gain access to numerous hardware and software information about user mobile device such as version, operating system and profile language
For online streaming websites like Netflix, the user’s interactions with email and text messaging are tracked, even though it has little to do with the use of the app function.
Instagram tracks the number of mouse clicks as well as whether windows open on the device are foregrounded or background of the screen.
A number of sites including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify and Netflix save extensive data about third party sites users visit, including ‘purchases, ads seen, sites visited, device information, and service use.’
The findings show that apps can even ignore ‘Do not track’ requests from mobile devices, and these include Netflix (pictured) and online dating apps Hinge and Happn. The image shows some of the data Netflix tracks about its users
VpnMentor Internet security expert Gaya Polat said in a statement: ‘While the majority of this data usage is benign or necessary for services to function, knowing which companies hold which data about you is the only way to track your privacy and how secure you really are.
‘We recommend always reading the privacy policy to ensure you know what you’re agreeing to,’ added Ms Polat.
Instagram tracks the number of mouse clicks as well as whether windows open on the device are foregrounded or background of the screen. The image shows some of the data tracked by Instagram
