Your IP Address: A Number with a Purpose
Your IP address is a number assigned to every internet connection by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). While that may sound like your digital fingerprint, it’s not always so simple: your IP address isn’t always specific to your device, and it isn’t always a stable identifier. Its main roles? Routing information across the web and helping display online content—yes, that includes ads—on your connected gadget.
The Unique Device Identifier: Cookies and Beyond
The device identifier is a unique string of characters assigned to your device or browser by means of cookies or other storage technologies. This identifier can be created or accessed to recognize your device—for example, whether you’re visiting different pages on the same website or hopping between different sites and apps.
- A similar concept is the probabilistic identifier, which is a bit of a digital detective. It’s created by combining features linked to your device (like browser type, operating system, or even your IP address). With your permission, more characteristics—such as which fonts are installed or your screen resolution—can also be used to boost accuracy. Why “probabilistic”? Because multiple devices may share similar features and connections, so there’s always a bit of margin for error. But, it still works to help sites and apps recognize you—possibly everywhere you roam online.
- There are also identifiers created from authentication data, which means information linked with your online accounts: your email address, phone number, or even a customer ID provided by your carrier. If you’re logged in with the same credentials on various websites, apps, and devices, this information can be used to recognize you wherever you go.
Your Online Activity: What You Do, What You See
Your journey through the internet is also tracked. This includes websites you visit, apps you use, the content you look up, and your interactions with both content and ads. How often did you see a certain ad? Did you click on it? All of this is fair game for activity tracking.
- What you voluntarily provide—like filling out a feedback form, posting a comment, or giving details during account creation (your age or profession, for instance)—is also collected.
- Some characteristics, like your possible interests, purchasing intentions, or your consumer profile, might be inferred or modeled based on previous activity (such as the content you viewed, which services you used, how long you spent with various content or services) or based on information you’ve provided.
Location, Location, (Approximate) Location
An estimate of your location can be deduced from your IP address, but it’s not GPS-accurate. It’s often described as a zone of at least a 500-metre radius—think of it as knowing your neighborhood, not your house. Still, plenty for delivering targeted content (or ads) relevant to your region.
In summary: Just by browsing, clicking, and tapping around on the internet, you’re trailing behind multiple digital clues — some you shared, some inferred from your activity, and some cobbled together from the technical fingerprints left by your devices. A lot of what ends up in the digital data soup comes from a mix of device, connection, and usage details, all tied together to help websites and apps make sense of who you are or what you like — and, of course, help advertisers target you with uncanny precision. It’s a fascinating, if sometimes unsettling, peek behind the digital curtain!
