How to shrink your footprint

Five minutes

These take one pass through your settings and remove a surprising share of everyday collection.

• ✦Turn off your phone's advertising identifier, and reset the old one
• ✦Deny app tracking permission by default
• ✦Switch your browser's default search to one that does not build a profile
• ✦Turn on Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track where offered

An afternoon

The next tier changes how your browser behaves rather than what a single setting says.

• ✦Install a reputable content blocker that stops third-party trackers
• ✦Enable strict tracking protection and storage partitioning
• ✦Use a separate browser profile for shopping and signed-in accounts
• ✦Delete accounts you no longer use, starting with old retailers

A weekend

Worth it if you want the collection to stop rather than slow down.

• ✦Move email to a provider that does not scan for advertising, and use address aliases
• ✦Send deletion requests to the data brokers that hold a file on you
• ✦Review which apps have location and contacts permissions, and revoke everything not in daily use
• ✦Consider Tor Browser for research you would rather not have attached to you

What not to bother with

Private browsing windows do not stop fingerprinting or hide you from your network. A VPN moves who sees your traffic, it does not stop a site recognising your device. Neither is useless, but neither does what the marketing implies.