Bluetooth beacons in stores: can they track your phone?
Bluetooth beacons in stores only send an ID. What it takes for one to locate you, which apps are really listening, and the settings that matter.
OSINT and privacy, defensive
Every click leaves a shadow. Learn to read yours.
Your name, your photos, your forgotten accounts: somewhere out there they add up to a profile you never agreed to. datashadow shows you what is findable, why it matters, and how to shrink that shadow step by step.
Latest articles
Long reads, written to be useful rather than to fill a page.
Grocery loyalty programs: what your rewards card really records
Grocery loyalty programs trade discounts for data. What the Kroger privacy notice says is collected, who it is shared with and how to opt out.
Automatic content recognition: your smart TV is watching back
Automatic content recognition lets smart TVs log what you watch, even over HDMI. How ACR works and how to turn it off on Samsung, LG, Roku, Vizio, Fire TV.
Is ChatGPT Private? What Happens to What You Type
Is ChatGPT private? What gets stored, who may read it, when chats are used for training, and which settings in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot matter.
Digital legacy: what happens to your accounts when you die
Your digital legacy from a privacy angle: what happens to accounts after death, how scammers mine obituaries, and the settings Google, Apple and Meta offer.
Email tracking pixels: what opening an email tells the sender
An email tracking pixel tells the sender when you opened a message, how often and roughly where. What it collects, how to spot it and which settings stop it.
Is my phone listening to me? Why the ads still feel too accurate
Is my phone listening to me? What researchers and the FTC actually found, why the ads still match your conversations, and the settings that make a difference.
How we work
Three principles decide what gets published here and what does not.
Defence, never offence
Everything here is written from the perspective of the person being searched for. We explain what is technically possible so you can protect yourself, and we stop where a text would turn into a manual for stalking someone.
Checked, not guessed
Claims get sources. Where we measure something ourselves, we say how we measured it, and we call lab conditions lab conditions instead of dressing them up as field data.
Nothing leaves your device
This site is a stack of static files. No accounts, no comment database, no wall of tracking pixels. Any tool we build runs entirely inside your browser.
Browse by topic
Each topic collects the articles that belong together.
Digital footprint
What is findable about you right now, where it comes from and how to see it the way a stranger would.
Data removal
Getting entries taken down: search results, people-search sites, old accounts and the rights that back you up.
Tools and services
Messengers, browsers, mail providers and privacy services, compared without marketing haze.
Basics
The groundwork: how tracking actually works, which threats are real for you and where to start.