Kaspersky has unveiled alarming statistics revealing that in 2024, web trackers will collect user data over 38 billion times, averaging one million detections each day. This staggering figure raises critical questions about privacy and the extent of online surveillance in our digital lives.
Recent analysis of the 25 most popular web tracking services—including Google services, New Relic, and Microsoft—highlights the extensive data collection, archiving, and analysis of users’ online behaviors. This information includes demographics, website visits, time spent on pages, and user interactions such as clicks, scrolls, and mouse movements, all of which help companies refine advertising strategies, enhance user engagement, personalize experiences, and evaluate the performance of online services.
Kaspersky offers a Do Not Track (DNT) feature designed to disable tracking components that monitor online behavior. This tool enables Kaspersky to assess the extent of data collection by web trackers. Their experts examined the top 25 tracking services to perform this analysis.
Among these services are four from Alphabet Inc.—Google Display & Video 360, Google Analytics, Google AdSense, and YouTube Analytics—alongside Microsoft platforms like Bing and New Relic. The study revealed that between July 2023 and June 2024, there were a staggering 38,725,551,855 data collection incidents, with users providing their data approximately 1,060,974 times daily.
Key findings from the study include:
- In East Asia, Google Display & Video 360 accounted for 25.47% of DNT component triggers, while in South Asia, it was 24.5%. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) had the lowest percentage at 8.38%, likely due to the prevalence of local tracking systems.
- Latin America hosts the largest share of Google Analytics users at 14.89%, followed closely by the Middle East at 14.12%. Google Analytics plays a vital role in monitoring user behavior and enhancing website traffic.
- Google AdSense trackers are least common in Oceania (3.76%) and the CIS (2.30%), while they are most prevalent in the Middle East (6.91%) and South Asia (6.85%).
- YouTube Analytics shows significant usage in South Asia (12.71%) and the Middle East (12.30%), but lower shares in Europe (5.65%) and North America (4.56%).
- Microsoft trackers are most common in Latin America (3.38%) but much less so in the CIS (0.68%).
Bing trackers are notably active in Africa (8.46%) and less so in the CIS (0.77%). - Regional tracking systems sometimes outperform global competitors in countries like South Korea, Japan, and Russia, where local internet services are well-established.
- Anna Larkina, a Kaspersky security and privacy specialist, noted, “The more companies store and manage our information, the greater the risk of a breach, highlighting that data collection isn’t limited to just a few companies.” She emphasized that tech firms have a strong incentive to protect user data to maintain their reputations, but ultimately, users must take responsibility for their own data security by being cautious on new platforms and taking steps to safeguard their privacy.
About Kaspersky
Founded in 1997, Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and online privacy company dedicated to protecting businesses, critical infrastructure, governments, and consumers worldwide. Kaspersky’s evolving threat intelligence and security expertise have safeguarded over a billion devices from targeted attacks and emerging cyber threats. Their comprehensive security portfolio includes Cyber Immune solutions for combating complex cyber challenges, industry-leading endpoint protection, and tailored security products and services for over 200,000 corporate clients.
For more information about web trackers in 2024, visit Securelist.com.
