Is your ISP tracking you? Probably. Most internet service providers are constantly monitoring and keeping records of users’ activities. Chances are your ISP is tracking you as well. Data retention may happen for different reasons, none of them particularly beneficial for internet users.
First and foremost, some providers have the terrible habit of limiting internet usage based on what their users usually do online. That means if you are used to watching videos online (Streaming) or sharing files (Torrenting) regularly, you take a lot of the bandwidth for yourself. Good for you! But ISPs certainly won’t like that.
Whenever a user starts to use a great extent, putting pressure on the service, many internet providers practice something called bandwidth throttling to slow down the connection and limit users’ traffic speed. They do this to prevent the service from getting overwhelmed and, consequently, unavailable.
Moreover, many providers don’t get ashamed of “sharing” – that’s a euphemism for selling – your traffic data to third parties. Actually, in most cases, they’re legally authorized to do so, monetizing your data and keeping all the money for themselves.
Sadly, there’s much more to be concerned about beyond unfair service limiting and unscrupulous advertising practices. And we can’t just blame ISPs for that. The truth is internet providers are bound by law to collaborating with governmental agencies in countries with extensive surveillance programs, like the US.
But don’t fall in despair yet. There’s still hope. Using Proxies or Privacy-focused browsers can help, although those aren’t ideal solutions against privacy breaches. The most complete and effective way to stop ISPs from snooping you around is to use a trustworthy VPN.
