What Is a Web Beacon and Why Should You Care?

Web beacons are tools used to track your internet journey for specific websites. You may have seen them referred to by another name, like web bugs, clear GIFs, or pixel tags. A website typically employs web beacons to count users or see how pages on the site have been accessed.

You can't decline web beacons like you can decline tracking cookies. We’ll cover more about how they work, what they’re used for, and how you can block them with one of the best ad blockers.

What is a web beacon?

A web beacon may sound like something from the latest Star Wars installment, but it’s a genuine file used to monitor your website activity. A web beacon can be known by many names. You may see them called tracking pixels, spy pixels, or web bugs.

These are files that monitor your activity on a website to build analytical reports. Web beacons are used to track user behavior, like the content they interact with or emails they open.

If you’ve ever felt like someone or something was tracking you across the internet, you may be right. Not to be a voice of doom here, but internet trackers are everywhere. Think of the last time you surfed online without any ads popping up. It may take a while to remember because cookies and web beacons are always ready to track your internet activities.

Web beacons help companies follow your online journey. For instance, a website may use a web beacon to count users on the network. It could make your future visits more tailored to your needs. They can also track how successful an ad campaign has been by monitoring the online impressions.

How do web beacons work?

Web beacons work similarly to internet cookies. A graphic image or HTML element loads from an external source to a web page. It’s not visible to the human eye, so it won’t interfere with your internet browsing. A web beacon is sometimes known as a spy pixel because it’s so small that it’s nearly invisible. It’s embedded coding used for tracking.

When a page is opened on a website, the beacon’s web server receives a request, and the code is sent or a clear image gets uploaded to your device or email message. Then the file tracks how you navigate your online browsing. It’s very similar to spyware, but much less intrusive.

Email beacons work the same way. These are also invisible images that get placed inside the email body without interrupting your communications. Email marketing companies want to know if you opened their emails, and the email web beacons will deliver that information. It also lets these businesses know when you opened the mail and can get your IP address.

What are web beacons used for?

If you’re concerned about your data privacy, you should know there are valid uses for web beacons. Beacons provide web analytics for websites and blogs that track how many people have viewed your site and user activity. This data can include what pages were visited the most, what areas on the page got the most attention, and where people tried to click.

Web beacons not only count the users who interact on a website but also show what visitors find most interesting and useful. This is a handy tool because it shows what does and doesn’t work, so website owners can improve the user experience or provide more relevant content. Web beacons can also be used as watermarks to track illegal content use.

Some people may feel web beacons are a privacy issue because they’re used for monitoring purposes. It may not be there to do any harm, but ultimately, it’s there to notate your online activities. Web beacons also help marketing companies know when you’ve opened an email. 

They can sometimes be used by spammers to confirm an email address is valid, and once you open an email, the web beacon sends that information back to the sender.

Web beacon privacy concerns

There are no laws prohibiting web beacons in the United States, which can be concerning news if you are worried about your data privacy. Marketing campaigns depend on these tracking methods to monitor company emails. These tiny files are a way to know if your email address is valid, and once the company sees that it is, they’re ready to send you lots of spam.

You also won’t be notified of a web beacon’s presence, like you often are with internet cookies. Web beacons aren’t usually noticed because they’re so small, so you don’t realize you’re being tracked. You might not know your IP address has been captured by a company you barely know. Some web beacons are up to mischief.

If you don’t think this is a reason to be a bit concerned, consider the risks associated with your private information getting leaked to the public. This has happened before to millions of users and can happen again.

The social media giant Facebook had a data breach in 2019 where millions of user data profiles were leaked. That’s only one site of many that have lost user data over the past decade. Businesses aren’t the only entities that can use web beacons. Cybercriminals could use them for targeted email attacks.

3 ways to block web beacons

1. Use a VPN with an ad blocker

Since web beacons can use your IP address, hiding your IP address with a virtual private network (VPN) makes tracking you much harder. The best VPNs come equipped with ad- and tracker-blocking features that also remove those pesky pop-ups from your browsing experience. Here are the top three we recommend after rigorous hands-on testing:

1. NordVPN: Equipped with Threat Protection, NordVPN not only masks your IP address but also blocks ads, trackers, and malware. We also love that Nord's MeshNet feature lets you stream Netflix shows from other countries — a definite bonus.

2. Surfshark: Similar to Proton and NordVPN, Surfshark comes equipped with CleanWeb, a malware, ad, and tracker blocker. You can buy CleanWeb as a standalone privacy tool or get it with Surfshark's VPN. 

3. Proton VPN: You'll get access to NetShield with Proton VPN, which blocks malware, spyware, and malicious websites. Additionally, NetShield blocks ads and trackers like web beacons so you can breathe easy online.

2. Block web trackers

Some web browsers allow tracking protection on your desktop. Mozilla Firefox has Enhanced Tracking Protection that blocks trackers attempting to follow you and collect data while you’re online. There are also browser extensions and ad blockers that block web beacons, including these three that topped our best ad blockers list: 

1. Total Adblock: Created by the makers of TotalAV antivirus, Total Adblock offers one of the most hands-off ad-blocking experiences we've seen. Along with blocking ads on sites like Forbes (if you know, you know), Total Adblock cleaned ads off our YouTube videos as well. It also earned top privacy scores during our testing.

2. Ghostery: While it's not a great fit for Safari, Ghostery worked like a charm on our Chrome and Firefox browsers. It even blocked ads on YouTube, something not all ad blockers can do. We also liked that it includes private browsing tools.

3. 1Blocker: Are you an Apple fan? Then 1Blocker might be your jam. This iOS- and macOS-friendly ad blocker is built for Safari. We found it super simple to set up during our testing, and love that it has multiple customizations that allow you to block everything from ads to beacons — and even comments.

3. Block automatic image loading in email

Use the setting that blocks image displays in your email since most of your emails will make perfect sense without images. Some email providers, like Microsoft Outlook, have this setting on by default. Web beacons are often embedded as images you can't actually see, so disabling images also disables these small sneaky beacons. Similarly, if you use an email masking service, you can conceal your email address online while disabling images in your email. 

FAQs

Bottom line

Even though you can’t see them, web beacons monitor your online activities to gain data regarding how you interact with websites online. You should block web beacons whenever possible if you don’t want more trackers following you around the internet.

A top VPN service — bundled with robust browsing protection tools like an ad blocker — will give you reliable support while protecting your data and offering you additional privacy.