z.moatads.com: Moat’s Invasive Ad Tracking by Oracle

z.moatads.com is a tracker from Moat, now part of Oracle, designed to monitor how you interact with online ads. It builds detailed profiles for targeted advertising, compromising your privacy. Here’s the breakdown and how to fight back.

What Is z.moatads.com?

Moat specializes in ad verification and analytics, and this domain tracks your engagement with ads across the web. It’s not about ensuring ads work—it’s about collecting data to manipulate your online experience. As Privacy Auditors, we’re troubled by its reach.

Data It Collects

This tracker captures:

• IP Address: Locates you to a city or area.
• Ad Interaction Data: Logs clicks, views, and hover time.
• Device ID: Identifies your specific device.
• Browser Fingerprint: Records browser type and plugins.
• Cookie IDs: Tracks you across sites.
• Page URL: Notes the site with the ad.
• Timestamps: Captures exact engagement times.

This paints a vivid picture of your ad behavior.

Who Gets Your Data?

Your info is handed to:

• Oracle: For internal ad analytics and profiling.
• Advertiser client: Using Moat to track campaigns.
• Third-party adtech vendor: Within Oracle’s ad ecosystem.

How to Protect Yourself

Privacy Auditors suggest these defenses:

• Block Trackers: Use extensions to stop z.moatads.com.
• Use a VPN: Hide your IP with Mullvad.
• Disable Cookies: Prevent cross-site tracking.

Stack these methods for maximum privacy.

Sources

• Oracle Privacy Policy: https://www.oracle.com/legal/privacy/
• Moat by Oracle: https://www.oracle.com/advertising/moat/

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