<story><title>Ask HN: How prevalent is non-cookie-based web tracking today?</title><text>I just started reading about things like Header Enhancement and SuperCookies and find them to be quite egregious. Does anyone know how much of this activity is being used by big known companies?&lt;p&gt;For example, I just found out that my account settings at Verizon Wireless were allowing them to use Header Enhancement (UIDH) adding a unique identifier on every http request I sent. So, if I log in to a site, they can associate the UIDH with my account so next time I’m in browser incognito mode, they already know who I am (or have a good guess).</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>pavel_lishin</author><text>&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;good enough data to predict what kind of stuff you buy.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Then why are the ads that _do_ sneak through my adblockers or onto Instagram, etc., such hot, moist garbage? Is it just a lack of people wanting to advertise at my demographic?</text></item><item><author>dharmab</author><text>I don&amp;#x27;t want to go into much detail, but I work for a major company in this space and nost companies in the industry can track you with reasonable success even if you are logged out over multiple devices. Your (approximate) location, browsing habits and patterns are good enough data to predict what kind of stuff you buy.&lt;p&gt;If you want to not be tracked, turn off JavaScript for a start.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>checkyoursudo</author><text>I have been suspicious for a while that all of these companies that claim to know everything about us, or people who are afraid that these companies know everything about us, are wrong.&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t feel like I am unusual in any way, as in I can&amp;#x27;t see how I have any natural, dumb-luck defense against any of this tracking. If companies like Google, Amazon, FB, etc, are in any way really trying to use what they think they know about me to get me to buy stuff or influence my thoughts or behaviour, then they seem to be doing a really, really bad job of it.&lt;p&gt;As far as privacy goes, my concern is far more focused on apps&amp;#x2F;programs stealing my photos of my kids, or tracking me around town, or knowing who I meet and talk to.&lt;p&gt;As far as predicting my future behaviour, I have not been impressed so far.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ask HN: How prevalent is non-cookie-based web tracking today?</title><text>I just started reading about things like Header Enhancement and SuperCookies and find them to be quite egregious. Does anyone know how much of this activity is being used by big known companies?&lt;p&gt;For example, I just found out that my account settings at Verizon Wireless were allowing them to use Header Enhancement (UIDH) adding a unique identifier on every http request I sent. So, if I log in to a site, they can associate the UIDH with my account so next time I’m in browser incognito mode, they already know who I am (or have a good guess).</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>pavel_lishin</author><text>&amp;gt; &lt;i&gt;good enough data to predict what kind of stuff you buy.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Then why are the ads that _do_ sneak through my adblockers or onto Instagram, etc., such hot, moist garbage? Is it just a lack of people wanting to advertise at my demographic?</text></item><item><author>dharmab</author><text>I don&amp;#x27;t want to go into much detail, but I work for a major company in this space and nost companies in the industry can track you with reasonable success even if you are logged out over multiple devices. Your (approximate) location, browsing habits and patterns are good enough data to predict what kind of stuff you buy.&lt;p&gt;If you want to not be tracked, turn off JavaScript for a start.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Joe8Bit</author><text>Several reasons:&lt;p&gt;Many large, higher quality ad buyers (agencies and direct sold) can get enough return from non-greyarea inventory like this. There&amp;#x27;s no point in them taking (even a small) perceived risk of buying this grey market inventory.&lt;p&gt;However, they likely &lt;i&gt;do&lt;/i&gt; use this tracking data second or third hand via their third party data providers brokering and including it in larger data sets they use for cross site targeting via DMPs.&lt;p&gt;Finally, there&amp;#x27;s simple economics: people who go through enough effort to block trackers and other things are (perceived) to be less likely to engage with ads (e.g. they see it as you do, when one &amp;#x27;slips through&amp;#x27;). So there&amp;#x27;s no point in paying $$$ for those eyeballs.&lt;p&gt;All of this in combination means you get low quality, barrel bottoms ads.</text></comment>