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Google uses a technique to collect data that can be overlooked by even the most tech-savvy people.
The search giant uses special fonts that track users’ IP addresses and browsing history, such as Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Montserrat, and Merriweather.
Web designers use these free fonts to make their sites look great whether the user is using a phone, tablet, laptop, TV, or desktop computer.
Google uses a technique to collect data that can be overlooked by even the most tech-savvy people. Web designers use these free fonts to make their sites look great
When the font file is downloaded from Google, more than just the font is loaded.
Google also collects information such as the user’s IP address and the website visited, which in turn is compared with other data the technology giant has about the user.
The company gives away special fonts to website owners, with at least 60 million sites using them.
Google claims its free tracking fonts help websites load quickly and look the same on your iPhone, Android, Windows PC, Mac, and tablet — but at the cost of privacy.
When you visit a site that uses Google Fonts, you automatically transfer it to Google.
Your IP address is your unique online identifier associated with your devices, every web page you’ve visited, how long you spent there, and the links you clicked on that page.
This is lumped in with all the other data that Google collects about you everywhere else. If you want to be shocked, these three creepy lists reveal everything the tech giant knows about you.
Private or incognito browsing does not protect you from this tracking.
You can change your cookie settings or turn on a VPN to stop tracking online activity, but that’s not enough as these fonts are everywhere.
It’s not as simple as toggling an option in your browser. At the moment you can only set your own font choice in Firefox.
That’s why software developer Jeff Johnson created a browser extension that does this for you.
StopTheFonts blocks fonts coming from sources like Google and Adobe with built-in tracking codes.
You can load fonts from sites you want, from sites stored on site itself, or through a third party such as Google. At the moment, the extension is only available in Safari.
Google also collects information such as the user’s IP address and the website visited, which in turn is compared with other data the technology giant has about the user.
That’s why software developer Jeff Johnson created a browser extension that does this for you. StopTheFonts blocks fonts coming from sources like Google and Adobe with built-in tracking codes
When you load pages, emails, or anything else you view online with web font enabled, you’ll see them exactly as the designer intended. Turn those off, and things can look pretty crazy in some cases.
If you use Chrome, Edge, Safari, or any other browser, it’s best to let Google forget your search history and activity. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s better than doing nothing. Fortunately, that’s easy and you can set it to happen automatically.
Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in. Then click Manage your Google account.
Click Privacy & Personalization to go to the Data & Privacy page.
Checkmarks in the History Settings section are next to Web & App Activity, Location History, and YouTube History. Click on each to adjust your settings. Disable them to stop further tracking if you wish.
Set up Auto Delete for future activities on these pages. Select every three months.
Once you’ve followed these steps, your search history will be gone, but you’ll also have tracked across apps, location history, and YouTube views turned off. Click here for the steps to do that.
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