phar.gu-web.net: Guardian’s Invasive Reading Tracking

The Guardian’s tracker, phar.gu-web.net, watches your reading habits on their website, collecting data to profile your interests for content and ads. This invades your privacy by logging your news consumption. Here’s what it does and how to resist.

What Is phar.gu-web.net?

This domain is part of The Guardian’s analytics system, tracking user behavior on their news platform. It logs interactions to personalize content and ads, compromising your privacy. As Privacy Auditors, we’re concerned about its impact on reader anonymity.

Data It Collects

When you read on The Guardian, it captures:

• IP Address: Your network location, tied to physical addresses.
• Browsing History: Articles and sections viewed on The Guardian.
• Geolocation: Lat/long derived from IP for regional content.
• Device ID: Unique identifiers for cross-session tracking.
• User Behavior: Clicks, scroll depth, and time on pages.
• Cookie IDs: Persistent trackers for user identification.
• Browser Type: Chrome or Firefox, with version details.
• Operating System: Windows or macOS, including builds.
• Page URL: Full path of articles and pages viewed.
• Timestamps: Precise timing of reading interactions.

This builds a detailed profile of your news interests.

Who Gets Your Data?

The Guardian shares your information with:

• Guardian internal system for content and ad personalization.
• Third-party advertiser for targeted campaigns.
• Analytics subcontractor processing reader data.
• Government authority upon legal request, per compliance policies.

How to Protect Yourself

As Privacy Auditors, we suggest these steps to block Guardian tracking:

• Use Tracker Blockers: Tools like Privacy Auditor can disable phar.gu-web.net scripts.
• Mask IP: Use a VPN like Mullvad to hide your location.
• Clear Cookies: Delete news cookies regularly to stop profiling.
• Browse Anonymously: Use browsers like Tor for better privacy.

Combine these for stronger protection.

Sources

• The Guardian Privacy Policy: https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy

This is a legal disclaimer. All information is provided for educational purposes only.