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Company agrees to stop 'history sniffing' in web browsers

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  • Description

    Feds make deal with online ad firm that tracked and gathered data

  • Duration 2:32
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LA thanks -- now we all know the government is tracking almost everything we do online and everywhere else there in the skies there everywhere.

But now a digital advertising company is agreeing to end a practice called history sniffing.

After the feds told -- to knock -- off.

The company is called -- market place.

And what it reportedly did.

Was install tracking software secretly on your computer.

That software then gather data about the web sites you've visited and it sent those that data back to the company.

Epic market place then use that data to target advertisements.

Without consent of any kind.

So if you went online to look him up web sites on bankruptcy for instance the company in theory knew that that's what you were doing knew about your possible money problems.

Not necessarily illegal but it does raise privacy concerns that the feds say they will not tolerate.

Win this now the foxnews.com science and technology editor Jeremy Kaplan as -- so they found one way that they watch everything we do.

That suddenly they don't want to happen.

Could be -- good on them.

Exactly.

I applaud them on finding this one small way.

That people are being tracked online however we have to realize that everything we do on line at every minute of every day is always being tracked by -- a dozen companies.

There is.

-- -- with this information wide and -- K here -- -- on the foxnews.com.

Almost all of it is being used for advertising purposes which is just.

Yes I mean that's to be expected I suppose I -- -- search cotton shirts they might be give me an ad for cotton shirt.

Precisely or pornography they might give me an ad for porn because that's what everyone does online Jeremy -- And a little tick mark goes next to your name permanently in your permanent record that says.

He search for pornography that one time in more that ten times or whatever might -- your case I don't know.

But the point is yes they're doing this forever testing purposes however.

I personally don't think they should be I think we have an expectation of some semblance of privacy just -- -- have an expectation of privacy and other areas of your life.

And I think that a lot of these companies are really respecting that.

So this one will but if you -- -- to shut -- -- one way -- were being tracked that's a good thing over there are countless other ways.

And perhaps it's -- took -- more aggressive stance and took a look at some of those things which clearly violate consumers' expectations there's still that drone fallen -- and well you know that's OK I think he's predicting me I always protect and we'll -- is -- protecting -- well we'll see if you do anything the government doesn't like Microsoft.

The fingers crossed him then maybe that'll help.

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