“Privacy-First” Advertising Still Uses Your Data

A company can handle your information more carefully and still use it to choose ads. Calling a system “privacy-first” does not tell you whether it stops collecting information.

Datante gives your household a way to block selected tracking connections from devices using its settings. It cannot erase an ad company's records about you, but it can reduce some chances for more collection.

How do ad companies connect information about you?

They may try to join account details, device activity and other records. This is called identity matching. The aim is to decide which records belong to the same person, device or household.

An IP address is a network address used when devices connect. It is not a person's name. It is not always a reliable way to identify someone.

An Ampersand executive discussed this problem in a Streaming Media article. Ampersand's description of a TruthSet test reported:

• 13% accuracy when linking IP addresses to postal addresses.
• 16% accuracy when linking IP addresses to email addresses.

Those figures describe those particular matches in the tested records. They do not mean every ad is 13% accurate or that all other internet activity is anonymous.

Ampersand sells advertising services and promotes a different matching method. These are its reported results, not an independent test of Datante.

Accurate matches can help build a profile you do not want. Wrong matches can attach someone else's details to your household. Datante does not fix those records.

What is a data clean room?

A data clean room is a controlled system where companies can compare information under set rules. It may limit who can access the data or take copies out.

It does not necessarily stop companies matching people or making groups for ads.

Databricks describes a Stagwell system that performs identity matching inside a controlled customer environment. The matching still happens.

When a company makes a privacy promise, ask what it means. Is it collecting less, asking permission, limiting access, or only changing where the work happens?

What is a tracking pixel?

A tracking pixel is a tiny image or similar request used to report activity, such as loading a page, to a service. It can help a company learn about visits.

AdExchanger has covered disputes about an older California privacy law and lawsuits about tracking pixels.

A lawsuit is a claim brought to court. It is not proof that a company broke the law. The facts, location and legal rules matter.

Datante can support your choice to block selected connections. It does not decide legal guilt or make a business comply with privacy laws.

How does Datante help?

DNS means Domain Name System. It helps devices find the network address for a website or service name. The name is called a domain.

Some trackers use their own domains. If a device asks Datante for one covered by an enabled blocking rule, Datante can stop the usual lookup. That may stop a connection needing the answer.

Your router is the box that connects your home devices to the internet. Setting it up with Datante can help compatible devices using those settings, beyond one browser.

Datante's reports let you review household lookups and filtering decisions. You can reduce selected tracking connections without waiting for a court decision.

It cannot block every way information is shared. A website may collect data through its own name, then share it from its computers. A device may remember an address or use different DNS settings. A VPN, a service that carries covered connections through a protected link, may also use different DNS.

What about information you choose to upload?

A job application or shopping account can contain details you gave directly.

Incogni studied job platforms' published privacy policies. Its study uses California's legal definition of selling personal information. It does not prove that every résumé on every platform was sold.

Incogni is a privacy-services company. Keep that commercial interest in mind when reading its study.

Datante cannot remove details from an application already uploaded. It cannot retrieve records from a data broker, a business that collects or shares information about people.

Use the platform's settings. Remove details you do not need to share. Ask for deletion or opt out where those choices are available. Opting out means choosing not to take part in a type of data use.

What can you do now?

1. Check what a “privacy-first” promise actually covers.
2. Review permissions and sharing settings in the accounts you use.
3. Follow Datante's router guide for devices you want covered.
4. Review blocked lookups without assuming they prove illegal activity.
5. Use deletion or opt-out tools for information already held elsewhere.

Frequently asked questions

Does Datante make me anonymous?

No. Anonymous means your activity cannot be linked to you. Accounts, purchases and other details can still create that link.

Does Datante guarantee that a business follows privacy laws?

No. It cannot replace permission checks, legal advice or requests to delete your data.

Does Datante handle any data itself?

Yes. Filtering DNS and providing household reports involve data handling. Read the current Privacy Policy. Do not assume privacy protection means no records are kept.

Take control of selected tracking connections

Compare Datante's protection levels, follow the setup guide, and read the Privacy Policy.

Datante can reduce selected tracking connections across devices using its settings. Use account controls too, especially for information you have already shared.