Maintaining Online Privacy On Your Mac: Top Tips For Staying Under The Radar

You don’t have to be doing something dodgy to desire online privacy these days; a lot of people recognize that we’re constantly being tracked in the digital space, and that sites everywhere are harvesting huge amounts of data for various different purposes – some totally legitimate and others less so.

For example, if you’re a keen casino player, you don’t necessarily want to advertise that to the world, especially if you regularly take home big wins. You might prefer to keep that as secret as possible. Equally, if you regularly check out health-related questions, follow celebrity gossip, or anything else that you’d rather others didn’t know about, you’re in a boat with a lot of other people, and we’re here to assist.

While we know sites do need to take data in at times, we’re also very keen to help internet users maintain the level of privacy they desire, whatever that looks like and whatever they’re doing – which is why we’ve gathered up some top tips for keeping your browsing sessions as private as possible, while still getting the most from the online world.

Before we start, let’s just refresh that lots of people want privacy for everything they do online – who wants people snooping on what you watch and how you spend your leisure time, or what questions you decided you absolutely had to Google at 4 AM when you couldn’t sleep? Whether you’re playing at a casino and you don’t want that particular hobby showing up or you are checking out the intricacies of how earthworms manage to live underground… well, you can bump up your privacy with these simple tips.

Tip 1: Browser Brush-Up

First things first: your browser. Yes, we all have a favorite browser and literally nobody wants to be switching this up (all your passwords, your history, your bookmarks, and let’s face it, your habits are built into a browser, after all). However, if you want to keep things private, you’re probably looking at a browser change, because different browsers support very different levels of privacy.

In fact, this is so important we made a whole list of the 7 top browsers for Mac to help our users make sure their online activity is kept under wraps. Opera and Vivaldi came in high for their privacy, and Opera even has a built-in VPN option (which we’ll cover more later). You’ve also got plenty of other options, like Firefox, Brave, and the Tor browser… so take your pick and relax as your online footprint disappears.

Tip 2: Think VPNs

For the ultimate privacy these days, a VPN is pretty much a must. VPNs are crucial to hiding your information from your internet service provider, who can otherwise see everything you do online. A VPN will conceal your search requests and keep this information private, meaning that nobody has to know you’ve been looking up how to tweeze eyebrows professionally, or what your zodiac sign says about you.

VPNs can also give you elevated access to websites in other countries, which has some major benefits too. For example, if you’re browsing casino websites in another country, you might find you have limited access – many sites are region-restricted. If you can’t get onto one of your favorites, like Thunderpick, using a VPN might give you back your access, although you should check out any terms and conditions or legalities before you plunge into play! However, this is a great way to unlock content that you might otherwise not be able to access, just because of where you live.

Tip 3: Keep Up With Security Updates

Even the best security is likely to have issues at times, and providers are constantly working to improve their offerings and make sure users are kept as safe as possible online. That means you should always make sure you install updates when they’re available; doing so will patch any gaps that have been detected in the previous versions.

Failing to regularly update software can leave you vulnerable to hostile takeovers and hacking, so don’t delay – yes, it’s a nuisance having to wait while it installs and sets up, but it’s worth the trouble to keep your computer secure and ensure maximum privacy.

Tip 4: Opt For Browser Versions

Apps are definitely useful and many people utilize them, but the browser is also your friend if you put privacy at the top of your priority list. Why? Simply because apps generally harvest more data.

That doesn’t mean you have to cull all apps from your phone! If you depend on your Thunderpick app and you really don’t want to use the browser version, don’t feel like you have to! But if you’ve got other apps that you really only use occasionally, consider a switch to the browser version and see whether it works for you. If it does: great, you’ve just bumped your privacy up a few notches!