Ghostery Whotracks.Me

Uncover who is tracking you online with WhoTracks.Me, featuring statistical reports derived from the web’s largest open-source database of trackers.

Trusted

Owned and operated by Ghostery since 2018. We’ve empowered researchers and millions of users to take control of their online experience and protect their personal information from data collectors.

Dynamic

Actively monitors the data collectors on the top 10,000 most visited websites worldwide. Whotracks.Me shows type, reach, and affiliation of every tracker.

Open Source

Shared with the wider research and content-filtering community. Other projects can use WhoTracks.Me and associated tracker database to enhance their own privacy tools.

Discerning

More than just a website – WhoTracks.Me’s expansive dataset and in-depth analysis powers Ghostery’s AI Anti-Tracking technology.

Tracker categories

By categorizing trackers, Ghostery helps users understand the tracking ecosystem and make informed choices about what to block. Tracker categories exist to provide transparency into the different types of trackers and data collection happening behind the scenes on websites.

Advertising Advertising services that utilize data collection, behavioral analysis, and user retargeting.
Site Analytics Data analytics, site usage, and performance trackers.
Consent Management Cookie consent managers, allowing websites different levels of tracking user activity.
Utilities Site requests that may be critical to website functionality, such as tag managers and privacy notices.
Hosting Services providing access to websites have access to server logs, including IP address and User Agent information.
Customer Interaction Chat widgets, customer support, and other interaction tools.
Audio/Video Player Most audio and video players on websites.
Extensions Software that intercepts and analyzes browser requests by redirecting traffic to itself. This includes browser hijacking extensions, but also legitimate applications like anti-virus software.
Misc Different types of unclassified trackers.
Adult Advertising Advertising services designed for adult content sites.
Social Media Features related to social media platforms.

Learn how Ghostery categorizes trackers

Did you know?

Trackers are pervasive on the web. Here are a few key facts to know about web tracking.

74%

Google trackers are present on 74% of all web traffic

Web traffic is the measure of data from visitors interacting with a website.

16%

of the web has a hidden Facebook tracking pixel

This statistic is derived from a comprehensive analysis of 10,000 websites by WhoTracks.Me.

43.2%

Proportion of traffic to top 10,000 sites containing trackers

Web traffic is the data sent and received by visitors to a website. This traffic includes the initial page load as well as any subsequent requests like refreshing the page or navigating to other pages on the site.

33.6%

of trackers are using cookies

We expect this number to decrease over time due to Google phasing out third-party cookies. As a result, companies that track online activity are starting to use methods that don't involve cookies. Some of these new methods, like fingerprinting, are even more intrusive.

12

Average number of requests per page that track you

This statistic is derived from a comprehensive analysis of top 10,000 websites by WhoTracks.Me. These attempts could be from one tracker making multiple requests or several trackers making fewer requests.

Average number of trackers present on a site

This figure represents the average number of trackers on a site that are attempting to gather visitor information.

2260

out of 10,000 top websites have more than 10 trackers per page

This statistic is an average, meaning that while some pages may only have a handful of trackers, others could have an excess of 30 or more.

19MB

is the average amount of data used by trackers per page load

This substantial data usage can impact both energy and hardware resources, as well as extend the time it takes for a page to load. Trackers not only compromise user privacy but also the efficiency and speed of browsing.

Proportion of Web traffic tracked by different organizations

Tracker Market share

Many popular services belong to Google, Amazon, Facebook Meta, Apple and Microsoft but these services often have different names (e.g. Meta owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp). Explore the current structure of the data collection market by viewing the full chart.

See Full Chart

Popular Websites with the most tracking

This chart ranks websites based on the quantity of online trackers on their sites. Trackers record what you do online, which websites you visit, what you buy, and even what you click on. Data collectors then use this information to create a profile about you, which can be used for things like targeted advertising.

parade.com

Uncategorized • 32 trackers seen

foxnews.com

News and Portals • 29 trackers seen

arkadium.com

Uncategorized • 28 trackers seen

taboola.com

Business • 28 trackers seen

cleveland.com

Entertainment • 28 trackers seen

foxbusiness.com

Business • 28 trackers seen