- Many apps collect private data to function, especially those that display ads or have a social aspect.
- If you are concerned about your privacy, we recommend a very interesting application to monitor and block ad trackers on Android.
The applications that we install on our mobile device often collect information about us and our activity for their developers. Fortunately, it is possible to monitor and block the crawlers of ads on any device Android ..
Are they spying on me?
Many Android apps collect data on different errors for future fixes. We also find those that use trackers to function, especially if the app has a social section, content search, etc. Trackers that report directly to the app owner are called "proprietary" trackers, and they are, in theory, the most secure.
The problem is third-party trackers sending data to external services used by the company or business partners. Generally, they are advertisers who want to sell us things through advertising. The data is used to verify what our interests are and in this way to be able to present us with advertising more in line with these..
Monitor and block ad trackers Take control of our privacy!
Obviously, this is something that worries and in this sense we can trust TrackerControl, a completely free and open source app that is capable of identifying trackers and blocking them.
The way it works is by funneling our network data from a VPN server to the device and comparing the traffic to a database of known trackers. It is a VPN located on our device and not on a remote server. However, it is impossible to use a “normal” VPN when TrackerControl is activated..
Once we have the traffic analyzed, we will be able to view the websites to which our data is intended and, with the full version, also the country where it is located. However, something negative is that the app is based on IP addresses which are very accurate.
TrackerControl is also capable of blocking trackers, but this feature has two important issues that we should consider before using it. The first is that the only version available on the Play Store (the Slim version) that complies with Google's rules and removes the lock function.
In order to have a real control over the trackers, we are going to have to download the complete application from the TrackerControl website .
The second thing is that blocking trackers can prevent some applications from working properly, which is normal. In this case we will find some screens that never load. In the tests carried out, both in web browsers and in social media applications, we almost always faced this problem.
The way to solve this problem is by keeping the trackers necessary for the function while blocking others, although achieving this configuration will be a matter of trial and error.