There are many reasons you would want to keep your anonymous online. You might dislike the fact that company and websites target your activity to create personalized ads. Maybe you worry about other people seeing your browser history.

Whatever the reason, privacy and anonymity are some of the most sought-after qualities people want out of their browsing. In the following paragraphs, we’ll discuss how a VPN can help you browse anonymously, while also providing other tips to increase your anonymity.

Private Mode

This is one of the easiest ways to add privacy to your browsing activity. Almost all browsers have a designated private mode. What Private Mode does is prevent the device from storing your search history. Your searches won’t appear in the search history or in auto-fill.

Floating buttons by Lily for Fireart Studio

The private mode also blocks third-party cookies. This is ideal if you’re using public computers, such as the ones you find at a library or hotel. You can also download specialized web browsers, in which, private mode is the default. This is convenient because now you don’t have to worry about remembering to turn private mode on.

Block Cookies

Cookies are responsible for a lot of the tracking that website perform. In your preferences, you will be able to block third-party cookies, which will help to an extent. There are cookies called Flash cookies that are more powerful than regular ones. These cookies will be left by most sites that have video content on them, and can sometimes bypass blocks.

The best way to eliminate flash cookies is to use CCleaner, a software that can clean your PC, Mac, or Android device and clear out flash cookies.

Customize Your Browser and Search Engine

If you don’t use a browser designed with privacy in mind, you want to go out of your way to customize the preferences. Popular browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox all send your physical location to the website you visit. Typically you can turn this feature off either in privacy settings or content settings. It’ll be called something akin to location tracker or geo-enabled. You can disable the feature entirely or modify it so that it only provides location details when necessary. If you want true anonymity, opt out completely.

Google is the most popular search engine and is responsible for a lot of the tracking that goes on. Google collects on data, some of which is used to create more customized searches for you. While this can be a time-saver, it does nothing to help your anonymity. You can stop customized searches by clicking on search tools, all results, and verbatim.

The other downside about Google is that it is a whole platform. It’s your browser, your email, your calendar, all of which provide an opportunity for tracking. To reduce Google tracking, turn off shared endorsement and ad personalization. You should also try out the Google Analytics Browser Add-on. This extension will help keep Google Analytics from using your data.

You can also a try designated tracker blocker software. This can save you the hassle of having to opt out of tracking for every single one of the websites you use, as many social media sites, for example, also perform a lot of tracking.

Proxy Network

Avoiding trackers is only half of the battle. The other major issue is keeping your IP address hidden. One way to add anonymity is to use a proxy network. Using a VPN, or a Virtual Private Network, allows you to conceal your IP address. An IP address is another thing that can be used to identify your geographic location.

Using a VPN is one of the safest and most reliable ways to add a layer of anonymity to your browsing. With a VPN, you get a new IP address every time you connect to Wi-Fi. This will prevent people from spying on your online activity because you can make it look like you’re in Spain even if you’re sitting in a cubicle in San Francisco.

Unfortunately, not all VPNs offer the same level of anonymity. Some don’t have as many servers or have their servers in a real location. Others log their users’ activity. CyberGhost is one that is great for increasing anonymity. They have a list of servers that exceed 3,000, and these servers are spread out over 60 countries. CyberGhost is also good for adding some privacy when you are torrenting and streaming media content.

Keeping your activity anonymous online is becoming harder and harder. To do it safely is even harder. To do it effectively, you need to stop, block, and delete anything that can be used, while also masking your IP address.