Who's Tracking You? Big Data, Ad IDs & Biometrics
See how Meta, Google, advertisers and data brokers follow you from device to email to phone, in plain English and real detail. Then cut it back, setting by setting.
Watch The 30-Second Trailer
See how your phone, email and number are matched into one profile, and how the course helps you cut it back.
It Isn't Chance
You shop for something once, and it follows you to every app. A site you've never used knows your address. A stranger finds your relatives on a people-search page. None of this is chance. Your phone, your email address and your phone number are matched, scored and sold every day. This course pulls back the curtain on how it works, and shows you exactly how to take back control.
Who It's For
- Anyone who wants to know what Meta, Google, advertisers and data brokers really know about them.
- Anyone listed on a people-search site who wants to be harder to find.
- Parents and caregivers protecting their family's data, faces and location.
- Anyone who has moved or left a relationship and wants their trail to go cold.
Ever Wondered How They Knew?
- An ad appeared for something you searched once, on a different device.
- Your name, address and relatives are listed on a people-search site.
- A new app already "knew" your contacts or your location.
- You used face or fingerprint unlock without knowing what it can and can't protect.
- You've uploaded your DNA, your health data or your photos, and wonder where they go.
How One Person Becomes One Profile
Your phone's advertising ID, your email address, your phone number, your home Wi-Fi, your face and your location history each look harmless on their own. Behind the scenes, companies match them together into a single profile, then follow that profile from your phone to your laptop, your TV and your inbox.
The Identity Graph module shows you exactly how that matching works (hashed emails, phone numbers as tracking keys, industry ID systems, cookies, pixels and fingerprinting), and which links you can cut today.
Includes My Identifiers Map, a printable worksheet for mapping every email, number, ad ID, account and device you use.
What's Inside
Introduction: Welcome & About This Course. How the course works and your outcomes.
Module 1: Start Here. Two kinds of tracking (companies and people), and how to use this course safely.
Module 2: Your Data Profile: Who Builds It And How. What's in a profile, first parties, ad tech and data brokers, app SDKs, and how one ad auction broadcasts your device ID and location.
Module 3: The Identity Graph. Advertising IDs, your email and phone number as tracking keys, UID2 and RampID, cookies, pixels and fingerprinting, and how one person is followed from device to email to phone.
Module 4: Meta. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger: off-Meta activity, Custom Audiences, who can find you, location features, and a step-by-step Meta lockdown.
Module 5: Google & Search Engines. What Google stores, how search engines profile you, My Ad Center, Results About You, and a step-by-step Google lockdown.
Module 6: Location Data. How your phone knows where you are, who gets it, how "anonymous" location data is traced back to you, cars, TVs and smart homes, and a location lockdown.
Module 7: Biometrics. Face ID and fingerprints, the risk of someone unlocking your phone while you sleep, reverse face search, voice cloning, health and period-tracking data, and DNA sites.
Module 8: Erase And Reduce Your Footprint. People-search opt-outs, an honest look at removal services, state privacy rights, public records, social media cleanup, and the Final Exam.
Bonus: the Digital Footprint Erase Kit · a two-page Privacy Settings Map · a plain-English glossary of tracking terms.
What Makes It Different
- Real detail, plain English. It explains the actual systems (advertising IDs, hashed emails, real-time bidding, identity graphs) without the jargon.
- Every lesson ends in action. Exact paths for iPhone, Android, Meta and Google, and what each setting does and doesn't stop.
- Honest about limits. You'll know which steps make a real difference and which only sound like they do.
- Fair and factual. Companies are described from their own help pages, regulator actions and reputable reporting.
- Pairs with its companion course, Is Someone Tracking Me? Confirm It & Start Clean, if a person may be involved.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, you'll know how to:
- Explain how advertisers, data brokers, Meta and Google link your phone, email, number and face into one profile.
- Map your own identifiers (emails, numbers, ad IDs, accounts and devices) and cut the links you can.
- Lock down Meta, Google and your phone's location and ad settings.
- Limit the biometric data (face, voice, fingerprint, health and DNA) that can identify or locate you.
- Remove yourself from people-search sites and use your state privacy rights.
What You Get
- 8 modules plus an Introduction and a Bonus module
- About 70 in-depth lessons with step-by-step instructions for iPhone, Android, Meta and Google
- 8 printable PDFs, including My Identifiers Map, the Big Tech Privacy Checklist, a Location Exposure Audit, a Biometric Privacy Checklist and an Opt-Out & Cleanup Tracker
- The Digital Footprint Erase Kit: opt-out links for people-search sites, credit freezes and more, with a tracker for re-checks
- The Privacy Settings Map and a glossary of tracking terms
- Chapter quizzes and a Final Exam
- Lifetime access to this edition
Course Curriculum
-
1Introduction: Welcome & About This Course
-
2Module 1: Start Here
-
3Module 2: Your Data Profile: Who Builds It And How
-
4Module 3: The Identity Graph: How You're Followed From Device To Email To Phone
-
5Module 4: Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger)
-
6Module 5: Google & Search Engines
-
7Module 6: Location Data: The Most Dangerous Data You Make
-
8Module 7: Biometrics: When Your Body Becomes The Identifier
-
9Module 8: Erase And Reduce Your Footprint
-
10Bonus: Extra Tools & Printables
Frequently Asked Questions
Is This About A Person Tracking Me?
This course is about companies and data. If you think a specific person is tracking you, start with the companion course, Is Someone Tracking Me? Confirm It & Start Clean.
Will This Make Me Invisible Online?
No. It reduces what's collected about you and makes you much harder to profile and find. Some data is public record, and some companies don't honor opt-outs; the course is clear about what each step can and can't do.
Do I Need To Pay For A Removal Service?
No. The course shows you how to opt out yourself, and gives an honest comparison if you'd rather pay a service.
Does It Work For My Phone?
Yes, for iPhone and Android, plus the Meta and Google settings you can reach from any device.
What's Your Refund Policy?
Please see the store policy.
Educational Disclaimer
This course is for educational purposes. It is not legal advice. Companies are named so you can recognize them and use their own privacy controls; nothing here is an endorsement. No setting or opt-out removes every trace of your data, and results depend on completing each step. Privacy laws vary by state and change often.
Why it works: It shows you the real machinery behind the ads and the people-search listings, then hands you the exact settings and opt-outs that cut it back, in order.
📄 About 70 lessons · 8 printable PDFs · Lifetime access
A Making Sense Of Security guide: free guides and tools at MakingSenseOfSecurity.com