Tools, Privacy, Security

The Best Tools to Protect Your Privacy Online

Browsing the Internet without being constantly tracked, limiting the collection of your personal data, and securing your accounts have become real challenges. Fortunately, many tools can help you take back control: ad and tracker blockers, anti-fingerprinting protections, privacy-focused browsers, VPNs, password managers, and data breach monitoring services. However, not all tools are equally effective, and no single solution protects against every threat. Here is a selection of trusted tools and practical tips to strengthen your digital security, reduce your exposure to tracking, and gain greater control over the information you share online.

1. Ad and Tracker Blockers

Online advertisements are more than just a visual nuisance. Some rely on tracking technologies that measure your activity, recognize your browser, or build advertising profiles. Blockers can prevent many ads and unwanted requests from loading, improve your browsing experience, and sometimes reduce the amount of data downloaded.

uBlock Origin is one of the leading extensions for blocking ads and unwanted content. It relies on filter lists and offers advanced settings for users who want to customize their protection. The project is open source. Its availability and features vary depending on the browser, so choose the official version compatible with your environment and check for any browser-specific limitations.

Privacy Badger, developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), takes a different approach: it learns to recognize certain trackers based on their behavior. It can also communicate privacy preferences where supported. It is an interesting option for complementing a browser's built-in protections, although installing multiple blockers can sometimes cause conflicts.

For most users, a well-configured and regularly updated blocker is an excellent starting point. Avoid installing too many extensions with overlapping functions: each may require additional permissions, and some extensions can themselves pose privacy risks.

Tools worth exploring:

uBlock Origin: an open-source blocker for ads, trackers, and many unwanted requests. The full version is particularly suitable for compatible browsers, including Firefox. Official website: https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock
Privacy Badger: an EFF extension that learns to block certain trackers based on their behavior. Official website: https://privacybadger.org/
Privacy Guides: an independent guide that presents and compares different categories of privacy tools. Website: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tools/

2. Anti-Fingerprinting Protections

Browser fingerprinting is a technique that combines technical characteristics to distinguish one browser from others. These characteristics may include installed fonts, screen resolution, graphics capabilities, browser information, or certain technical behaviors. Depending on the method used, this fingerprint can help recognize the same browser without relying solely on cookies.

Deleting cookies or using private browsing does not necessarily prevent fingerprinting. Specialized tools therefore aim to limit the information exposed, standardize certain characteristics, or make browser fingerprints harder to distinguish.

Mullvad Browser, developed by the Mullvad project using technology from Tor Browser, aims to reduce tracking and fingerprinting. Unlike Tor Browser, it does not automatically route traffic through the Tor network. It can be used with a VPN, but this does not guarantee complete anonymity.

Tor Browser takes a broader approach by making users harder to distinguish from one another while routing traffic through the Tor network. It is particularly useful for people who need enhanced privacy. However, some websites may not work properly, and browsing may be slower.

Advanced settings designed to randomize every browser characteristic are not necessarily the best solution: they can make your configuration more unusual and therefore easier to recognize. It is generally better to choose a browser designed to limit fingerprinting than to make numerous manual changes.

Tools worth exploring:

Mullvad Browser: a browser designed to limit tracking and fingerprinting without requiring the Tor network. Official website: https://mullvad.net/en/browser
Tor Browser: a browser focused on privacy and anonymity that uses the Tor network. Official website: https://www.torproject.org/
EFF Cover Your Tracks: an educational tool that assesses certain characteristics of your browser fingerprint and the effectiveness of anti-tracking protections. Website: https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

3. Browsers That Better Respect Your Privacy

Your choice of browser plays a major role in protecting your privacy. It determines how cookies are handled, which anti-tracking mechanisms are available, which extensions are supported, and what technical information is shared with websites.

Firefox offers enhanced protection against many trackers through its Enhanced Tracking Protection feature. Its Total Cookie Protection feature isolates cookies by website to limit their use for tracking users across different sites. It is an interesting option for people who want to customize their browsing experience and use a wide range of extensions.

Brave includes several protections against ads and tracking directly in the browser. These built-in features can reduce the need to install additional extensions. However, protection settings may affect how some websites function.

Safari also includes tracking prevention mechanisms, particularly on Apple devices. As with other browsers, the level of protection depends on the available features, settings, and version.

Whatever browser you choose, download it from its official website, install updates promptly, and avoid extensions whose developers or requested permissions are unclear.

Browsers to consider:

Firefox: a customizable browser with anti-tracking protections and cookie isolation. Official website: https://www.firefox.com/
Brave: a browser with built-in ad and tracker protection. Official website: https://brave.com/
Safari: an Apple browser with built-in tracking prevention mechanisms. Official website: https://www.apple.com/safari/
Tor Browser: worth considering when reducing traceability and protecting your identity are high priorities. Official website: https://www.torproject.org/

4. VPNs: Protect Your Connection Without Trusting Them Blindly

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, encrypts traffic between your device and the VPN server and masks your public IP address from the websites you visit, which will generally see the VPN server's address instead. It can be useful on public Wi-Fi networks, to reduce the exposure of certain connection details, or to limit what your internet service provider can directly observe about the traffic concerned.

However, a VPN does not make you anonymous on its own. The VPN provider becomes an important intermediary for your traffic and should therefore be chosen carefully. Cookies, browser fingerprinting, the accounts you sign in to, and the information you share with websites can still be used to recognize you.

Look for services that document their privacy practices, publish technical information, undergo independent audits, and clearly explain their data retention policies. Open-source code and audits are useful indicators, but neither guarantees that a service is risk-free.

Proton VPN is one option worth considering. The provider states that it follows a no-logs policy, subject to independent audits, and publishes the source code of its applications. Other services may also be suitable depending on your budget, devices, and threat model. Be cautious with free VPNs whose business models rely on data collection that is not adequately explained.

What to check before choosing a VPN:

A clear and detailed privacy policy explaining what data is collected and how long it is retained.
Relevant and sufficiently recent independent audits, with information about their scope.
Recognized connection protocols and regularly maintained applications.
A kill switch to limit traffic leaks if the VPN connection drops.
Compatibility with your devices and a transparent business model.
Proton VPN: https://protonvpn.com/
Privacy Guides: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tools/

5. Password Managers and Multi-Factor Authentication

Reusing the same password across multiple websites significantly increases your risk. When a service suffers a data breach, stolen credentials may be tested on other platforms. A password manager lets you create and store unique, strong passwords for every account.

Bitwarden is a password manager that offers an open-source version and synchronization across devices. It can generate complex passwords and centralize their management. As with any password manager, protect your master account with a strong password and enable the additional security features available.

Multi-factor authentication adds another verification step when you sign in. Where possible, prioritize physical security keys or authenticator apps rather than relying solely on SMS, which can be vulnerable to certain attacks.

Never store your master password in an unprotected file or in a note that is accessible to everyone using your device. Also remember to keep your recovery codes in a secure location.

Tools worth exploring:

Bitwarden: a password manager with password generation and cross-device synchronization. Official website: https://bitwarden.com/
Electronic Frontier Foundation: practical guidance on strengthening account security and protecting your communications. Website: https://ssd.eff.org/
Privacy Guides: recommendations for password managers and authentication tools. Website: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tools/

6. Encrypted Messaging and Communication Tools

Personal data is not only exposed while you browse websites. Your messages, attachments, and communications can also reveal private information. Choosing tools that properly protect the content of your conversations is another important step.

Signal provides end-to-end encryption for messages and calls, meaning that intermediaries cannot read the content of protected communications. However, this does not eliminate every risk: recipients can save or share your messages, and information on your device may still be exposed if the device is compromised.

End-to-end encryption should be distinguished from transport encryption. With end-to-end encryption, content is designed to remain inaccessible to the service provider. With transport encryption alone, content is protected while being transmitted but may still be accessible to certain intermediaries, depending on the service architecture.

Even when using encrypted messaging, avoid sharing sensitive information unnecessarily and enable your device's screen lock. Security also depends on protecting your devices and the people you communicate with.

Tool worth exploring:

Signal: a messaging and calling app with end-to-end encryption. Official website: https://signal.org/

7. Tools for Checking Personal Data Breaches

Even when you follow good security practices, your data may be exposed following a cyberattack against a service you use. Data breach checking tools can help you find out whether certain information, such as an email address, appears in known data breaches.

Have I Been Pwned lets you check whether an email address appears in data breaches recorded by the service. It is a checking tool, not a guarantee that your address has never been exposed: not every breach is necessarily known or listed.

If you discover that an account has been compromised, change the affected password and the passwords of any other accounts where you reused it. Enable multi-factor authentication and remain especially alert to phishing messages that may follow a breach.

A data breach and commercial data collection are two different things. A breach-checking service may identify a known exposure, but it will not necessarily tell you which companies currently hold your data or how to request its deletion.

Tool worth exploring:

Have I Been Pwned: a service for checking whether an email address appears in known data breaches. Official website: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

8. Where's My Data: Identify Organizations Holding Your Data and Take Action

The tools described above help limit tracking, protect your accounts, and secure your communications. But they do not answer another essential question: which companies already hold information about you, and how can you ask them to provide access to or delete that information?

Where's My Data is a solution combining a browser extension with a website to simplify these processes. Its purpose is to help users identify websites that may hold their personal data, prepare personalized access or deletion requests, and make it easier to send multiple requests.

This approach complements browser blockers and other privacy protections. A blocker may prevent certain types of future data collection, but it does not delete information already stored in the databases of websites, their service providers, or other organizations. To act on that data, you need to identify the relevant parties and submit appropriate requests.

A centralized approach can reduce repetitive work: finding each organization's contact details, drafting requests one by one, and keeping track of the process can take considerable time. Where's My Data aims to simplify these steps and make access and deletion requests more manageable.

It is important to remember that a request does not necessarily result in the immediate deletion of all information. Organizations may be subject to legal retention requirements or other applicable exceptions. The tool helps organize and prepare the process, but the outcome depends in part on the organizations' responses and the applicable legal framework.

Why Add Where's My Data to Your Privacy Toolkit?

Identify websites that may hold your personal data.
Prepare personalized requests to access or delete your data.
Make it easier to send multiple requests without manually drafting every message.
Complement preventive browser protections with actions targeting data that has already been collected.
Save time when exercising your privacy rights and better organize your requests.

9. Good Habits That Make a Real Difference

Even the best tools cannot replace a few simple habits. Keep your devices and applications up to date, download extensions from their official sources, and carefully review the permissions they request.

Limit the information you provide when creating an account. Where possible, use a dedicated email address or an email alias service to reduce exposure of your primary address.

Reject non-essential cookies when they are not necessary and the website provides a choice in accordance with applicable rules. Take time to review the privacy settings of services you use regularly.

Be wary of extensions that promise absolute anonymity, free VPNs with opaque practices, and tools that request disproportionate permissions. Depending on the permissions granted, an extension may itself be able to access certain browsing information.

Finally, distinguish between tools that prevent certain types of data collection and those that help you manage data already held by third parties. Effective protection relies on several complementary layers: prevention, account security, vigilance, and the exercise of your rights.

Useful Links and Further Reading:

Key takeaways

Protecting your browsing activity is an essential first step, but it may not be enough to regain control of your personal data. Companies may already hold information about you, whether you have used their services directly or your data has been shared with them by third parties. Blocking trackers today does not automatically delete data collected in the past. This is where Where's My Data complements your privacy tools: this browser extension, combined with a website, helps you identify websites that may hold your data, generate personalized data access or deletion requests, and prepare multiple requests in just a few clicks. Don't just limit future data collection: take action to regain control of the data that has already been collected. Discover Where's My Data and start cleaning up your digital footprint today.