F-Secure’s new Privacy Checker exposes the digital footprints that people leave behind when they use the Internet
F-Secure’s new Privacy Checker exposes the digital footprints that 
online trackers are using to invade people’s privacy. The free online tool checks the data stored in web browsers to reveal the kinds of information that online trackers use to monitor people while they surf the web, and highlights how using VPNs like Freedome can help thwart tracking technologies and online privacy violations.
The Privacy Checker is available on F-Secure’s new Digital Privacy website, and is free to use. All people have to do is visit the website and click a button. The Privacy Checker then looks at the basic data that browsers store when people surf online, and uses it to generate a report that tells visitors what online trackers can learn from the data. The Privacy Checker can determine where people are located, the device and operating system they use to run the check, what website they came from, and whether or not their browsers are set to accept the cookies that websites use to track people online.
“Research tells us that most people worry about their online privacy, but it also tells us people don’t know what to do about it”, said F-Secure Executive Vice President, Consumer Security, Samu Konttinen. “They don’t know what online trackers do, what kinds of information they can collect, or what companies can do with that information. The Privacy Checker essentially pulls back that magic curtain and exposes how online tracking works, so people can better understand how to protect themselves, and why”.
A new report from the Global Web Index seems to confirm that most people don’t make use of the privacy protection safeguards available to them. According to the report, only 26 percent of people make use of VPNs when connecting to the web*, which is a surprisingly low figure given the accessibility and simplicity of VPN solutions such as Freedome.
According to Konttinen, the Privacy Checker is designed to raise awareness about the importance of using Freedome by giving people information on how it stops the tracking process, and what kinds of information it protects. The Privacy Checker is a part of F-Secure’s new Digital Privacy website, which is dedicated to informing people about online privacy issues and the fight for digital freedom. The Privacy Checker is free to use and available now.
