widget.trustpilot.com: Trustpilot’s Invasive Widget Tracking

Trustpilot’s tracker, widget.trustpilot.com, monitors your interactions with review widgets on websites, collecting data for business feedback and marketing. This invades your privacy by profiling your behavior. Here’s what it does and how to resist.

What Is widget.trustpilot.com?

This domain is part of Trustpilot’s infrastructure for displaying review widgets on business sites. It tracks user engagement with reviews. As Privacy Auditors, we’re concerned about the personal data collection this enables.

Data It Collects

When you interact with Trustpilot widgets, it captures:

• IP Address: Links your activity to a physical location.
• User ID: Assigns a unique identifier for tracking.
• Interaction Data: Logs clicks and views on review widgets.
• Browsing History: Tracks sites with Trustpilot widgets.
• User-Agent: Notes browser and OS, like ‘Edge 122.0’.
• Page URL: Records pages during widget interaction.
• Referrer URL: Tracks where you came from, like a business site.
• Timestamps: Marks every event with precise timing.

This builds a profile of your review behavior.

Who Gets Your Data?

Trustpilot shares your information with:

• Business Client: Companies using Trustpilot access your interaction data.
• Third-Party Marketing Partner: Analyzes your behavior for campaigns.
• Cloud Provider: Stores your data on their servers.
• Government Entity: Complies with legal requests, potentially sharing your IP or user ID.

How to Protect Yourself

Privacy Auditors are committed to defending your digital privacy. Here’s how to block Trustpilot’s tracking:

• Use Tracker Blockers: Install extensions or Privacy Auditor’s service to stop scripts from this domain.
• Mask with a VPN: Hide your IP using a tool like Mullvad.
• Choose Privacy Browsers: Opt for Firefox with strict settings or Tor.
• Disable JavaScript: Block tracking scripts, though widgets may not load.
• Clear Cookies: Wipe cookies regularly to disrupt tracking.

Combine these defenses to limit Trustpilot’s data collection.

Sources

• Trustpilot Privacy Policy: https://legal.trustpilot.com/for-reviewers/end-user-privacy-policy
• Trustpilot Documentation: https://support.trustpilot.com/

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