When we search for something on the internet, we use search engines like Yahoo, Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo etc. The search results displayed by these search engines often contain modified URLs to websites or webpages containing tracking code. Using this tracking code, the search engines keep track of how many users visited a certain website and so on. But if you are not into sharing your tracking code, then what you can do is use a different cleaner search engine like DuckDuckGo. Another way to avoid this tracking code is by using and extension called Don’t Track Me.
This extension is available only for the Chrome web browser. The sole purpose of this extension is to filter out the tracking portion of a URL displayed in the search results. There is nothing else to be done from the user side. After disabling the URL tracker, you get a cleaner URL that does not take you to the tracker of the search engine first. This way you can enjoy much more privacy on the internet.
After installing this extension, you will notice a new icon in the toolbar/omnibar. If you click on this icon, you will see that the extension can modify the site data for the search engine only. This indicates that this extension is going to alter the search results.
In the settings for the extension, you can choose to clear the “HTTP Referrer” string which contains the site from which a user has been sent. When this is cleared, the target site cannot find out whether you are coming from a search engine or not.
Overall, this extension can give you some extra privacy but you can enjoy the same (or more) level of privacy by simply switching to the Incognito window in the Chrome web browser. You can open Incognito window for Chrome browser by using the hotkey Ctrl+Shift+N.
You can get the Don’t Track Me for Chrome extension from https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dont-track-me-google/gdbofhhdmcladcmmfjolgndfkpobecpg.