Google is using fonts to track what users do online and sell data to advertisers. Here’s how

Google is harvesting data in a way that even the most tech-savvy users may ignore. Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Montserrat, and Merriweather are among the typefaces used by Google that track users’ IP addresses and browsing history.

Web designers use these free fonts to make their sites appear fantastic on every device, including phones, tablets, laptops, televisions, and desktop computers. 

Google using fonts to track users
When you download a font file from Google, more than just the typeface is loaded. 

Google also collects information such as the user’s IP address and the page viewed, which is then cross-referenced with other information the internet giant has on file for the user. The firm provides unique typefaces to website owners for free, and at least 60 million sites use them.

Also read: Google admits to tracking users even after they turn off location tracking

Google argues that their free tracking fonts help websites load faster and look consistent across your iPhone, Android, Windows PC, Mac, and tablet – but at the expense of privacy. When you visit a site that utilises Google Fonts, you immediately give Google access to it.

Incognito Mode doesn’t really work
Your IP address is a one-of-a-kind internet identifier that is linked to your devices, every webpage you visit, how long you stay on that page, and the links you click on that page. This is combined with all of the other information Google collects about you. If you want to be surprised, these three scary lists reveal all Google knows about you.

Private or incognito surfing will not keep you safe from this tracking. To prevent certain online activity tracking, you may modify your cookie settings or use a VPN, but this isn’t enough because these typefaces are everywhere.

Also read: How Google tracks your location, and how you can prevent it from doing so

It’s not as simple as changing a setting on your browser. Only Firefox currently allows you to choose your font. That’s why Jeff Johnson, a software engineer, designed a browser extension that does everything for you.

StopTheFonts block fonts with built-in tracking tags sourced from Google and Adobe. 

You may enable fonts to load from any site you like, whether they are kept on the site itself or through a third party such as Google. The addon is currently only accessible on Safari. When you access web font-enabled pages, emails, or anything else online, you see it just as the creator intended. When you turn those off, things might become a little wacky.

How to stop this from happening
If you use Chrome, Edge, Safari, or any other browser, you should instruct Google to delete your search history and activity. It’s not a perfect answer, but it’s better than nothing. Fortunately, that’s simple, and you can programme it to happen automatically.

Log in to myaccount.google.com. Then, on the left, select Manage your Google Account.

To access the Data & Privacy page, click Privacy & Personalization.

Also read: There’s no escaping from Google collecting your data or tracking your location

Web & App Activity, Location History, and YouTube History all have checkmarks in the History settings section. To change your settings, click each one. If you want, you may turn them off to prevent future monitoring.

Set Auto-delete for future activity on these pages. Choose every three months. Following these instructions will remove your search history, but you will also have blocked tracking through applications, location history, and YouTube views. Get the instructions for doing so right here.

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