www.outbrain.com: How Outbrain Invades Your Privacy

Outbrain’s tracker, www.outbrain.com, lurks on countless websites, monitoring your every move to fuel targeted ads and content recommendations. This invasion of privacy builds a detailed picture of your interests and habits. Here’s what you need to know about its tracking and how to shield yourself.

What Is www.outbrain.com?

Outbrain operates as a content discovery and advertising platform, embedding trackers on publisher sites to monitor user behavior. It collects data to personalize ads and recommendations, but this comes at the expense of your personal privacy, turning your online activity into a commodity.

Data It Collects

When you interact with a site using Outbrain, it grabs:

• IP Address: Pinpoints your location, linking to your home or work.
• Browsing History: Tracks pages, articles, and clicked links.
• Cookie IDs: Uses identifiers like ‘_obid’ to stalk you across visits.
• Device Information: Logs browser (Chrome 120.0), OS (Windows 11), and device.
• Click Data: Records what you click and when, down to the second.
• Page URLs: Captures full URLs with query parameters.
• Referrer URLs: Notes where you came from, like a search or ad.
• Timestamps: Logs every action with precise timing.
• Language Settings: Grabs browser language (e.g., en-US) for targeting.
• Screen Resolution: Records display (1920x1080) to fingerprint your device.

This data creates a comprehensive profile for advertisers to exploit.

Who Gets Your Data?

Outbrain shares your information with:

• Advertising Partner: Uses data for targeted ad campaigns.
• Publisher: Site owners integrating Outbrain widgets.
• Third-Party Vendor: Processes data for analytics or storage.
• Business Affiliate: Collaborates for marketing or data enrichment.
• Legal Authority: Complies with data requests from government bodies.

How to Protect Yourself

At Privacy Auditor, we’re dedicated to guarding your privacy. Here’s how to block Outbrain’s tracking:

• Use Tracker Blockers: Install Privacy Auditor tools to stop Outbrain scripts.
• Deploy a VPN: Hide your IP with a service like Mullvad.
• Choose Privacy Browsers: Use Firefox with strict protection or Tor Browser.
• Disable JavaScript: Block Outbrain’s scripts with NoScript, though sites may break.
• Clear Cookies: Delete identifiers like ‘_obid’ regularly.

Combine these steps for stronger defense against invasive tracking.

Sources

• Outbrain Privacy Policy: https://www.outbrain.com/privacy/
• Outbrain Cookie Table: https://www.outbrain.com/privacy/cookies/

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