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The Atlantic

An Algorithm That Hides Your Online Tracks With Random Footsteps

Can “polluting” browsing history with fake traffic make it harder for ISPs to spy on you?
Source: Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

Last week, President Donald Trump signed a controversial new law, allowing internet providers to continue gathering sensitive information on their users and selling that data to advertisers. News sites erupted with recommendations for keeping browsing history private—but because all the data people send and receive online goes through their service providers, that’s easier said than done.

Many news stories recommended setting up a virtual private network, or VPN, to shield browsing data. Using a VPN re-routes all your browsing data through an encrypted tunnel, keeping it private from your provider, but it requires from your internet provider to often-sketchy and unaccountable VPN companies. Another option is Tor, a browser that routes web traffic through a random network of.

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