How to Stop a WiFi Owner from Seeing Your Internet History
Depending on how the router is configured, the owner of a WiFi network is capable of seeing the following details about your internet history:
- The websites you visit: including domain names of websites you visit, how much time you spend on each site, and when you visited. Depending on the connection type, router, and software being used, the WiFi owner may also be able to see what you do on each website.
- The apps you use: Most WiFi networks will log your DNS requests, which means the owner can see the apps you use, as well as the websites you visit.
- Unencrypted messages and images: The WiFi owner can see any unencrypted messages, images, or data you send over the network. This includes emails, social media posts, and other files.
- Your search history: Many WiFi networks keep track of your search history, including what you searched for and when you searched for it.
- Your MAC address: Every device has its own unique Media Access Control (MAC) address, which allows WiFi owners to monitor its activity.
- Your timestamps: WiFi networks can also log the time you connect and disconnect from the network and the duration of your connection.
- Your IP address: Network owners can see all devices connected to their WiFi network, including yours. They can also see your device’s private IP address, which can be used to geolocate and potentially identify you.
As you can see, WiFi admins can potentially collect a huge amount of personal data from their networks.
This data can be stored on the router itself, on a dedicated server, or in the cloud, and can be accessed by the owner at any time.
Does HTTPS Affect What WiFi Admins Can See?
The websites you visit are visible to WiFi network owners because the router logs your DNS (Domain Name Servers) requests. These servers translate a website’s URL into an IP address.
For example, if you visit google.com, your device will first submit a DNS request to find the IP address associated with that domain name. If you are connected to someone else’s WiFi network, they will be able to see this request and know that you are attempting to visit Google.
However, there are limits to how much of your internet activity WiFi network owners can see.
If you’re browsing websites secured by HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), the WiFi owner can only see the domain name of the website you visited — not the specific page nor its contents.
You can identify websites using HTTPS by the padlock in your browser’s address bar.
Avoiding any websites that don’t use HTTPS will improve your privacy to some extent. However, to hide your DNS requests from the network owner, you’ll need to add an additional layer of encryption to your connection.
Can the WiFi Owner See Your Internet History If You Use a VPN?
VPN software protects your online privacy by creating an encrypted connection, or tunnel, between your device and a remote VPN server.
No data sent through your VPN tunnel can be intercepted or viewed by the network owner. This is how VPN services hide your browsing activity from your ISP.
In the image below, we’re using packet-inspection software to analyze our web traffic while connected to Windscribe VPN. As you can see, the VPN’s encryption scrambles the data that would normally show what websites we’d visited.
VPN encryption makes your web traffic indecipherable to any third parties.
If you’re connected to a VPN, the owner of the WiFi network cannot see your internet history, downloads, searches, or the apps you use — even if you’re browsing websites without HTTPS protection.
All the WiFi owner can see is that you’re connected to a VPN, along with the amount of data transmitted. They won’t be able to see your actual internet history.
Other encryption sources, such as secure messaging apps, can also limit the amount of data visible to WiFi owners.
For instance, if you use WhatsApp, your messages will be encrypted, making it impossible for the WiFi owner to read them.
However, since they can see the DNS request, they will know that you’re using WhatsApp and how much data is being transmitted — unless you use a VPN.
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