Can you be tracked through DNS?

The DNS Trail: How Your Internet Activity is Tracked Even When You Think You’re Safe

We’ve all been told to use HTTPS – the padlock in the address bar signifies a secure connection, shielding our browsing data from prying eyes. But the feeling of secure anonymity online is, unfortunately, a bit of an illusion. Even with HTTPS securing your connection to a website, another crucial aspect of your online activity remains vulnerable: your DNS requests.

DNS, or Domain Name System, is the internet’s phonebook. When you type a website address like www.example.com into your browser, your computer needs to translate that human-readable name into a numerical IP address that the computer understands. This translation is handled by DNS servers. Every time you visit a website, your device sends a DNS query to your DNS provider, revealing the address you’re trying to reach. This seemingly innocuous request, however, leaves a digital breadcrumb trail of your online activities.

The critical point is that this DNS query happens before your connection is secured by HTTPS. While HTTPS encrypts the communication between your browser and the website, it does nothing to obscure the DNS request itself. Your DNS provider, therefore, sees exactly which websites you’re attempting to access, regardless of whether the website uses HTTPS or not.

This has significant implications for your privacy. Your DNS provider could potentially build a detailed profile of your online behavior, including:

• Websites visited: The most obvious piece of information, revealing your interests, affiliations, and even potentially sensitive information like medical websites or financial institutions.
• Frequency of visits: How often you access specific websites provides further insight into your habits and preferences.
• Time stamps: Pinpointing exactly when you accessed certain websites allows for even more granular tracking of your online activities.
• Geographic location: Your IP address, often revealed during the DNS process, can pinpoint your approximate location.

The consequences of this tracking can range from targeted advertising to more serious violations of privacy. Depending on your DNS provider’s policies and practices, this data could be sold to third-party companies, used for profiling, or even subject to government surveillance.

Protecting your DNS privacy:

Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate this risk:

• Use a VPN: A Virtual Private Network encrypts your entire internet connection, including your DNS requests, masking them from your ISP and your DNS provider.
• Use a privacy-focused DNS provider: Many providers prioritize user privacy and anonymize or minimize the data they collect. Research different providers and choose one with a strong privacy policy. Look for providers that use DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) or DNS-over-TLS (DoT), which encrypt DNS queries.
• Configure your device to use a different DNS provider: Most operating systems allow you to manually change your DNS settings.

While HTTPS is crucial for securing your connection to a website, it’s only one piece of the privacy puzzle. Understanding the role of DNS and taking steps to protect your DNS queries is essential for maintaining a truly private online experience. The internet’s phonebook is always watching – make sure you’re choosing the right operator.