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Using a VPN is a no-brainer when it comes to shoring up your digital security.

However, relying solely on a VPN won’t keep you totally anonymous.

Photo of a laptop in use with a holographic login window

Lots of VPN users expose their data by accident thanks to poor web client security practices.

The truth is that there’s always a trade-off between privacy and convenience.

With this in mind, a robust privacy setup and digital hygiene habits are must-haves.

Illustration of a VPN running on a mobile phone

Information leakage

Information leakage happens in all sorts of ways.

Cookies, for example, store information about your online activities and persist across sessions if not cleaned regularly.

Cached files help websites load faster, but they also store data about your browsing habits.

Third-party cookies, in particular, are used by advertisers to track you across different sites.

Your browsing history provides a detailed log of the websites you’ve visited, too.

Browsers often save search terms, form data, and other inputs to make your browsing experience smoother.

However, this data can reveal a lot about your habits and interests.

Here’s how:

1.

Advanced privacy options

Most browsers have a"do not track" featuretucked away in the options.

Your internet tool’s private orincognito modeprevents your internet tool from saving history, cookies, and cache data.

Especially if they have any personal information tucked inside.

This makes recovery difficult - and can thwart bad actors in their tracks.

That way, the browsing session is completely unsullied by cookies every time it is used.