Get Ready to Expose Yourself: Deep Packet Inspection is Back
These packets contain all of your online activity – not just your web browsing – and therefore can be more dangerous than “cookies”. With the information they gather online, advertisers target ads directly to you based on your online history. Have you ever felt like all the advertisements on sites were for services you have used or would use? Well they often are, and with deep packet inspection, they will be even more specific! The use of this technology gives advertisers the ability to show you ads based on extremely detailed information. It is so specific that they could theoretically tell if you are online for work or for fun, though they don’t necessarily distinguish on this trait when serving up ads. They can also tell the difference between your usage style and that of your spouse or kids. Thanks to the WSJ for this simple graphic of how deep packet inspection can work:
