Sniff This, Snoopers: Clever Ways to Scramble Your Digital Trail

Ever get the feeling your phone knows a little too much about you? Like when you browse beach towels on one site and suddenly your feed is full of ads for flights, swimsuits, and snorkeling gear? You're not imagining things—tech companies really are collecting massive amounts of data about what you search, click, buy, and even linger on.

But here's the fun part: You can bark back.

One increasingly popular strategy to protect your online privacy is data poisoning: intentionally feeding junk information into the algorithms that track you. Think of it as tossing sand in Big Tech's gears, or adding a little friction to data brokers' businesses. If there's one thing the surveillance industry doesn't like in the data it rapaciously hoovers, it's chaos.

For example, I created a digital doppelgänger—a fake persona who lives in Chicago and signs up for newsletters I’d never read. My real house is home to not only my family, but to two people who don't exist. I also have hundreds of email addresses, several variations of my name, and a phone that won't track me.

Here's why poisoning your data matters, and some practical (and fun!) ways to do it.

Why Poison Your Data?

Before we dive into tactics, let’s look at why you might want to throw the surveillance industry off your scent.

• PRIVACY: Data brokers build detailed profiles on you, from your political leanings to your grocery list. Poisoning your data helps throw them off.

• SECURITY: Reducing the accuracy of your digital footprint makes you less of a target for scams, identity theft, and manipulation.

• AUTONOMY: Personalization isn’t always good. It can trap you in an algorithmic bubble or subtly nudge your behavior in ways that benefit advertisers and data profiteers (not you).

• PROTEST: Maybe you don’t like the idea of tech bros profiting off your every move. Data poisoning is a low-key way to push back.

Poisoning your data is not about being invisible—which is not only undesirable for many, but also nearly impossible to do. It's about being unpredictable.

Next up: practical strategies to jam the surveillance system and protect your online privacy.

POISON YOUR DATA TACTIC # 1: Click Like a Weirdo to Confuse Ad Trackers

One of the easiest ways to flood the surveillance system with noise is to mess with your clickstream—the websites, ads, and links you interact with.

TRY THIS:

• Spend 10 minutes a day clicking on random YouTube videos that have nothing to do with your interests: vintage tractor repairs, Mongolian throat singing, Victorian dollhouse tours. (Bonus: You may discover a new passion or hobby!)

• Google phrases that are utterly irrelevant to you: “best trampoline parks in Nebraska” or “how to groom a llama.”

• Occasionally click on ads for things you’d never buy. This helps train ad networks to misunderstand you. (I once accidentally clicked on an ad for zebra-striped boots and started getting ads for hoodies that look like raw steak.)

Clicking like a weirdo sends mixed signals to the trackers watching your activity, helping reduce ad tracking and dilute the usefulness of your profile.

POISON YOUR DATA TACTIC # 2: Misinform the Machines to Mislead Data Brokers

Most of the data collected about you is automated—scraped from your browsing habits, smart devices, voice assistants, and more. You can confuse these systems with fake or contradictory information—an effective anti-tracking strategy that helps disrupt surveillance algorithms.

TRY THIS:

• Leave your phone or smart speaker near the TV. That way, if it accidentally wakes up, it’ll record a snippet of the evening news or a cooking show—not your actual conversations. (Despite the rumors, Big Tech doesn't have the capacity to listen in on everything everyone does. But if Siri or Alexa are accidentally wakened, they do record a snippet of whatever comes next... and sometimes send it to human contractors for "quality control.")

• When signing up for “free” apps or services, use throwaway email addresses and fake names. (Be sure to use a password manager so you don't lose track. I use Proton Pass.)

• Create a “decoy persona” and use it consistently for non-essential browsing to help confuse recommendation systems. For example, invent a 67-year-old retiree who loves golf and K-pop, then run all your web searches through that lens.

• Ask your smart assistant (like Alexa or Google Home) strange, unrelated questions. “Can you give me a recipe for barbecued iguana?” “Is Bigfoot real?” “What’s the capital of Neptune?”

You're not lying to the machines, but you are disorienting them.

POISON YOUR DATA TACTIC # 3: Create a Fake You to Protect Your Real-Life Privacy

I got this idea from Michael Bazzell’s book Extreme Privacy, and have been doing it off and on when I’m bored and have time to spare.

TRY THIS:

• Fill out forms or order items with your real address and phone number but an alias name. When the company invariably sells your info, it now looks like someone else lives at your address. My non-existent roommates get some pretty interesting trade magazines!

• Fill out forms or order items with your real name but a fake address, email, and phone number. Bazzell offers a lot of information on how to create your alias persona without accidentally using a real person’s details.

• Enhance the effect by posting the alias contact details on your social media profiles and websites, uploading a CV to resume sites, etc.

• Use these tactics on “freebies” and “make money from surveys” sites that ask for your race, religion, product preferences, and more. I filled out an eight-page survey saying I listen to EDM, enjoy MMA, go fishing regularly, and have four cats. Eventually, I ended up having to keep a list of fake facts I've fed into the machine: I own a Lexus, have $20,000 in credit card debt, and I'm hard of hearing...but no one in my family has diabetes.

Chances are, within a few months you’ll find your alias information leaking into the people-finder lists.

POISON YOUR DATA TACTIC # 4: Place Pretend Pawprints with GPS Spoofing

Location and movement data are gold for the data surveillance industry. Many apps collect it even when you’re not using them. Poisoning this information helps protect your physical privacy and is a practical form of algorithm manipulation for beginners.

TRY THIS:

• Leave your phone at home when you don’t need it, or carry it in a Faraday bag.

• Periodically spoof your location using a GPS spoofer app. Set your “home” to be a Taco Bell in Tucson for a week. (If your family relies on tracker apps to stay apprised of one another's whereabouts, this may not be ideal for you.)

• Keep location services turned off for most apps. If they must have access, set it to “While Using” rather than “Always.”

If companies are going to collect your location data, make them work for it.

Know When to Muzzle Your Mischief

Poisoning your data isn’t about going full chaos mode—it’s about throwing just enough static into the system to stay unpredictable. You’re not trying to break the internet (or your banking app), you’re reminding Big Tech that you’re not a perfectly trackable, ad-clicking lab rat.

Use it where it counts: platforms that treat your attention and data like a resource to mine. These are the places where data poisoning strategies really pay off. Skip it where accuracy still serves you.

Think of it like tossing a few banana peels behind you...not enough to crash the whole system, but just enough to trip up the ones following your digital trail.

If They’re Watching, Make It Weird

Big Tech’s surveillance economy thrives on accuracy. The more they know about you, the more power they have to shape your purchasing, political, and health choices (and much more). But when you poison your data—whether by clicking like a maniac, faking out trackers, or spoofing your location—you make it more difficult for them to build an accurate profile.

In a world where everyone’s being watched, confusion is resistance. (And resistance is fun!)