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Ever seen an online ad that perfectly matches your recent vacation searches? It’s a strange feeling, but it only hints at how much of your online activity is tracked. Travel sites and data brokers collect huge amounts of your personal data, which can shape the prices you see and the offers you receive. That’s not going to change; in fact, 20% of domestic flights in the U.S. will soon be priced based on AI-analyzed personal data.
As a result, your digital footprint stays with you each time you plan a trip. To clear the air on how a digital footprint works, this guide explains how it can affect your trips and what you can do to prevent it.
What Your Digital Footprint Looks Like to Travel Companies
Contrary to common belief, your digital footprint concerns far more than just your search history. Travel companies gather many small details to build a picture of you as a traveler. For instance, they often use:
- Cookies and tracking scripts
- Saved searches and recent travel itineraries
- Loyalty program profiles
- Old email addresses and previous booking accounts
- Data broker records tied to your name or device
Taken together, these pieces create a detailed profile of your travel habits. Then, companies use this information to guess your future plans, as well as your willingness to spend. The more they know, the easier it is for them to personalize offers and adjust prices.
How Your Footprint Changes the Prices You See
Famously, many travelers notice that flight prices rise after repeated searches. No, that’s not a coincidence. Browsing data helps travel companies judge interest and demand. Ultimately, these signals can push prices up or change the deals that appear.
However, clearing cookies or switching to private browsing only reduces surface-level tracking. Your records in the hands of data brokers stay active until you file a removal request. That’s why data removal services, such as Incogni, are helpful. They request data removal from broker databases on your behalf, cutting down on long-term profiling.
The Risks of Old Accounts and Leaked Email Addresses
A lot of people forget about old booking accounts, despite them still holding personal details. These accounts often sit unprotected for years, which is concerning. Why? Well, if one of them leaks during a data breach, a criminal can log in and use saved payment details to make unauthorized bookings or scam vacationers through leaked hotel accounts. That’s precisely what happened to users of Booking.com, one of the world’s largest travel sites.
The safest approach is to delete accounts you no longer use. It’s also important to use strong and unique passwords, as well as MFA, reducing the risk of break-ins into accounts that you’re not willing to delete.
Oversharing on Social Media
Be very careful when it comes to sharing your trips on social media, because doing so creates risks that many travelers underestimate. People share more than they think, and criminals take advantage of that. In particular, problems tend to come from:
- Posting boarding passes, which reveal personal data
- Sharing live locations while away from home
- Uploading photos that show travel patterns
- Revealing personal details that make impersonation easier
So, try to keep as much travel information private as possible. Of course, personal posts are inevitable, but it’s best to keep your accounts set to private if you do so. However, travel documents and precise locations are always best kept offline.
A Final Pre-Trip Digital Clean-Up Checklist
Before you travel, consider working through this short digital clean-up checklist to help reduce risks and give you peace of mind:
Review privacy settings on major accounts- Update your passwords and turn on multi-factor authentication
- Use a data removal service to remove your personal data from broker lists
- Delete old accounts you no longer use
- Clear saved payment methods you no longer need
- Remove old emails that contain passport scans or booking confirmations
- Use a VPN when connecting to public Wi-Fi
- Disable app permissions you do not use
Overall, travel is far simpler when your digital footprint is tidy and under control. A few careful steps will protect you from data leaks and unwanted profiling, and that’s invaluable. You’ll be left feeling free to enjoy your trip, without the fear of prying eyes.