If you want to browse anonymously, you shouldn't have to justify it. After all, everyone should decide for themselves what data they can find about themselves on the Internet. Since we now spend a large part of our lives on the Internet, it is even more important that we can browse anonymously without having to worry about it.

Especially on the Internet, there are many Internet services, companies and cybercriminals that specialize in collecting user data. To avoid this, you need to browse anonymously.

Browse anonymously: These traces are left behind on the Internet

It is the right of every Internet user to decide for themselves what happens to their own data. Normally, one's activities on the Internet can be tracked at any time by websites or Internet providers. Cookies are used to track which websites have been visited, whereupon targeted advertising is served to users. There are no bad intentions behind this. But why should you as a user contribute to the optimization of the website as well as to the profit increase of a company through personalized advertising?

Not every user wants their own data to be misused for other purposes via the IP address. The IP address can be used to find out one's preferences and location. Thus, in addition to the harmless entrepreneurs who only use the users' data to optimize their own services, there are numerous cybercriminals. These use the data for malicious purposes, such as identity theft, blackmail or the spread of spam. If you want to browse anonymously, you want to be able to determine what happens to your data.

Methods to browse undetected

Everyone on the Internet has a so-called IP address, with which Internet pages can be accessed. The IP address represents, so to speak, a person's house number on the Internet. So that you can browse anonymously and cybercriminals cannot find out the identity of the user, you can hide the IP address.

To browse anonymously, you should therefore opt for a proxy server. This acts as an intermediary between the user and the Internet. The own IP address is exchanged with the address of the proxy server.

Direct contact with the websites is therefore not possible. Although the IP address is hidden when using a proxy server, no encrypted connection is established. Another option is to use an anonymous search engine designed for maximum anonymity on the Internet.

Ensuring anonymous browsing is therefore a complex process. If you only want to browse anonymously for a short time, you can use a public network. In this case, you get a new IP address that is not linked to your personal location.

However, if there are hackers in the same network, the risk of an attack is particularly high. If you use public Wi-Fi, you should make sure to only access encrypted HTTPS pages. Another way to browse anonymously is by using a VPN.

A VPN is a virtual private network that works similarly to a proxy server. With a VPN, all traffic is protected beyond the browser, which allows for anonymous browsing.

Anonymous on the Internet: How to prevent tracking

If you want to browse anonymously, you should also prevent tracking. For example, if you use a search engine without tracking, such as Swisscows, you can make use of the website preview and have the page displayed in advance in a preview window. This is a handy feature that also tells you how many trackers or potential trackers are lurking on this website.

As already mentioned, VPNs also offer good solutions to prevent tracking. However, there are other methods to browse anonymously. If you use browser-internal functions such as "Do Not Track", you ensure that your activities cannot be tracked. However, this function is only a request from the browser, which websites do not necessarily have to comply with.

If the functions of the standard browser are not enough, you can of course also use external browser extensions to be able to browse anonymously. So-called privacy browsers increasingly take care of the user's privacy.

Likewise, data-safe search engines prevent tracking. But antivirus programs also usually have anti-tracking functions. These functions are not always free of charge. Often, the antivirus programs hide these functions behind additional payment barriers.

Browse anonymously: A simple guide for more security on the Internet

One of the safest solutions to browse anonymously are VPNs. With VPNs, you have the possibility to hide your IP address and conceal your location. Country blocking or censorship measures will no longer be a problem if you use VPNs.

The connection is also encrypted by VPNs. In order to be able to browse the Internet anonymously, you first have to choose a provider. After that, the registration on the website takes place.

You then download the VPN app for your device. In the app, you will find a selection of available VPN servers. These VPN servers are distributed all over the world. To establish a secure connection, all you have to do is click on the server.