Web Browsing
The digital footprint applicable specifically to the World Wide Web is the internet footprint; also known as cyber shadow or digital shadow, information is left behind as a result of a user's web-browsing activities, including through the use of cookies. The term usually applies to an individual person, but can also refer to a business, organization, corporation or object.
Information may be intentionally or unintentionally left behind by the user; with it being either passively or actively collected by other interested parties. Depending on the amount of information left behind, it may be simple for other parties to gather large amounts of information on that individual using simple search engines. Internet footprints are used by interested parties for several reasons; including cyber-vetting, where interviewers could research applicants based on their online activities. Internet footprints are also used by law enforcement agencies, to provide information that would be unavailable otherwise due to a lack of probable cause.
Social networking systems may record activities of individuals, with data becoming a life stream. Such usage of social media and roaming services allow digital tracing data to include individual interests, social groups, behaviours, and location. Such data can be gathered from sensors within devices, and collected and analyzed without user awareness.
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