The Toronto Star contacted Bell, Rogers and TekSavvy to see what kind of information the companies keep about the websites their customers visit
What does your internet service providers know about your internet browsing habits?
The Toronto Star contacted three popular
internet service providers (ISPs) in Toronto — Bell, Rogers and TekSavvy
— to see what kind of information the companies keep that can track the
websites their customers visit.
But first, some background. Customers are
assigned a new IP address, or Internet Protocol address, whenever their
modem connects to the internet. The IP address is a series of numbers
that acts as an address online, telling a website where to deliver its
data. If, for example, a Hollywood studio wants to find out who
downloaded a TV episode illegally, they would try to acquire the user’s
IP address then ask an ISP for the name associated with that number.
When asked whether the companies log such
information, the responses from the internet services providers varied
considerably.
