Exactly, and it's usually a cookie or some sort of persistent storage. I use a VPN, but I use it at the router level. https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Linux_Router_with_VPN_on_a...
I know my ISP logs my metadata (by law), whereas I trust that my VPN provider does not.
Essentially VLAN2 all traffic is routed direct to my ISP, and VLAN3 all traffic is routed to VPN. My machine normally sits in VLAN3. I make sure not to log into anything social media related or tied to my real identity.
If I need to do banking, Facebook or something like that I'll use a device in VLAN2 (a separate computer).
All phones and devices like that are broadcasting information anyway so those are in VLAN2 as well, unless they are devices with LineageOS and no Google Apps.
> A vpn is not a cure-all. It is only as private as you're willing to make it. If you want to pirate movies and chat on facebook at the same time, you're probably gonna have a bad time. What you do is absolutely a part of your advertising/tracking profile.
See in this scenario I would have a system in VLAN3 that I use for my downloading, and another computer in VLAN2 that is used for the facebooking. I use a hardened browser with https://github.com/ghacksuserjs/ghacks-user.js that hardens the browser and helps against fingerprinting.
I also use a number of addons, for various purposes
That requires hardening. Currently I use
* CleanURLs https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/clearurls/ (remove UTM and parameter tracking)
* CSS Exfil Protection https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/css-exfil-protection/
* Decentraleyes https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/decentraleyes/ (prevent tracking via CDN)
* Firefox Multi-Account Containers https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/multi-account-containers/ (used for sites to keep me logged in)
* HTTPS Everywhere https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/https-everywhere/
* Redirect AMP to HTML https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/amp2html/ (no to AMP)
* Temporary Containers https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/temporary-containers/ (Prevents tracking via ETags and other things like IndexDB)
* uBlock Origin https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/ublock-origin/ (block adverts)
* uMatrix https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/umatrix/ (block 1st party JavaScript)
