How to know if a website is tracking you.
Every time you open a website, code runs in the background. Some of that code is the website itself. But some of it belongs to other companies — and it is watching what you do. These are called trackers.
What trackers actually do
Analytics trackers count every page you visit, every button you click, and how long you stay. This data goes to a company like Google.
Advertising trackers follow you from one website to another. They build a list of everything you look at, so they can show you targeted ads later. That is why you see ads for shoes after looking at shoes.
Screen recording tools record what you do on the page — your taps, scrolls, typing, and pauses. It is like a video of your visit. The website owner can replay it later.
Identity tools figure out who you are. They connect your browsing across different websites to your real name, phone number, or email.
How to check for trackers yourself
Go to the website you want to check.
Press F12 on your keyboard (or right-click anywhere and choose "Inspect"). Click the "Network" tab at the top.
Press Ctrl+R. You will see a list of every request the page makes. Each line is a file or a call to another server.
Search for names like "google-analytics", "facebook", "clarity", "criteo", "gokwik", "clevertap", "meta", "doubleclick". Each one is a tracker sending your data somewhere else.
The number of third-party requests tells you how many outside companies are watching your visit.
How to protect yourself
Use a tracker blocker. Install uBlock Origin (free browser extension) on Chrome or Firefox. It blocks most trackers automatically.
Use a privacy-focused browser. Firefox and Brave block many trackers by default. Safari on iPhone also blocks some cross-site tracking.
Don't give your real phone number. If a website asks for your phone number during sign-up and you don't need to receive calls from them, think twice.
We did this for 107 Indian websites. Here is what we found.
On average, each website had about 7 trackers. Some had over 20. Most privacy policies never mentioned these trackers by name. The trackers were there. The policies pretended they weren't.
Read the full investigation →How many trackers run on your pages? Does your privacy policy name them? Can you answer a data-rights email? If you don't know, we can help you find out.
Talk to Meridian Bridge Strategy →Your personal data belongs to you. Under DPDP, every company must tell you what they have and delete it if you ask. One email is all it takes.
Get the template email →We investigated 107 Indian company websites. The public report shows what we found.