When we browse the internet, we use a software called a browser. The most used browsers are Safari (for Apple devices), Chrome, Edge (for Windows users), etc.
Each browser sends details about our browsing patterns to its developers. This is called “dialling home”.
Usually, the information shares one’s browsing time, what sites are visited and for how long, technical issues faced, if any.
The use of this data can be for marketing, or for technical improvement of the browser.
“Dialling home” means the browser sending our usage data to its developer organisation.
Every browser does not send the same amount of data. Some browsers are more private, some browsers share everything.
In this 2020 paper, researcher Douglas J Leith analysed various browsers and found that Apple, Microsoft, and Yandex send the most data to its respective companies. Brave was found to be the most private browser, sending little to no user information back to its developers. At this time, this is the most recent research on this subject.
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