![]() However, the reality is that online tracking is mostly invisible. We’ve all had the experience where ads magically seem to follow you around, in a practice known as ‘retargeting’, and it’s often unnerving for users. You would notice a beleaguered shoe store employee following you around, but you’re unlikely to notice most forms of online tracking. The profits from the sale of one pair of shoes allows the online shoe store to track thousands of people in the hopes of turning them into customers. ![]() The same incredible economies of scale that allow billions of people worldwide to stay connected also allow for the implementation of inexpensive and powerful methods of tracking. Useful web technologies that make the sites you visit convenient and powerful can also be co-opted to track you wherever you go. More importantly, any attempt by that shoe store to have an employee follow you around would not only be impractical, but would be met with some serious side-eye from potential customers. That shoe store you sauntered into because they had a pair that caught your eye has no idea who you are, where you live, or anything about you. This is convenient because we can walk around with a reasonable expectation of privacy and let our curiosity take us to interesting places. In the physical world, we don’t wear our ID on our foreheads.
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