Samantha S. is from Michigan, and for thirteen years, a man she knew would not leave her alone.
At some point in the year before October 2022, he placed physical GPS tracking devices on her vehicle — without her consent or knowledge.
Using a tracking app on his own device, he watched her location in real time.
Where she went. When she left. When she came back.
For over a year, she moved through her routine unbothered.
But on the morning of October 7, 2022, he used what he knew about her movements to find her.
He broke into her house before dawn and took her captive.
With her captive, he opened the tracking app on his phone and let her see what he had gathered.
It showed her locations, routes, over a year of her movements recorded and stored.
She had been watched the entire time and never knew.
Christopher T. pleaded guilty to kidnapping, torture, and aggravated stalking in December 2023 and was sentenced in 2024.
Thankfully Samantha survived.
But her tormenter used GPS devices that anyone can acquire, and an app that anyone can download.
That is all it took to digitally track and eventually kidnap her.
Digital tracking does not announce itself or ask permission.
It simply runs in the background of devices, platforms, and applications.
And most people have no idea how much of their daily routine is already being recorded, stored, and used by others.
GPS devices on vehicles are one form.
But digital surveillance takes dozens of others:
social media platforms recording your location… shopping sites building behavioral profiles… search engines logging your searches.
Then there are the third-party data brokers who peddle your personal details to anyone willing to pay.
This is why knowing how to be “untrackable” is a survival skill — not a paranoid hobby.
What is digital tracking?
It is the collection of your personal data by companies, platforms, governments, and individuals, often without your knowledge or meaningful consent.
This can include browsing habits, location, identity, purchase history, communications, and physical characteristics.
That data is used to build a profile of you.
That profile can be sold, breached, subpoenaed, or otherwise used against you.
What follows is how to reduce your digital footprint and take back control.
Method 1: Use A VPN
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) masks your internet address and encrypts your connection so that websites, your internet service provider, and third parties cannot easily trace your activity back to you.
Without a VPN, each site you visit can see your location and build a record of your behavior.
With a reliable VPN running, that record becomes significantly harder to build.
Choose a VPN with a strict no-logging policy, which means the service does not store records of your activity.
Proton VPN and Mullvad are among the most trusted for privacy.
Drawbacks:
A VPN does not make you invisible.
It reduces tracking but does not eliminate it.
You still need to avoid logging into accounts that tie your identity to your activity.
Method 2: Disable Location Services And Limit App Permissions
Most smartphone applications request permission to gather your location data, contacts, camera, and microphone.
Most users tap “Agree” without reading what they are granting.
Go into your device settings at this moment, review each application’s permissions.
If a flashlight application is requesting entry to your location and microphone, that is not a flashlight application.
Revoke any permission that does not have a clear, obvious reason for use.
Disable location services entirely for applications that do not require them to function.
Drawbacks:
Some applications become less functional when permissions are restricted.
For instance, navigation applications require location, which is a legitimate need for proper functionality.
The goal is to evaluate each permission individually rather than granting everything without thought.
Method 3: Use Private Browsing And Block Third-Party Cookies
When you browse the web using a standard browser with no privacy settings enabled, advertising networks track your activity across dozens of websites simultaneously.
By the time you leave one site and arrive at another, a profile of your interests is already being built and shared.
Switch to a privacy-focused browser such as Brave or Firefox with enhanced protection enabled.
Block third-party cookies in your browser settings.
Use DuckDuckGo instead of standard search engines when you do not want your searches retained.
Drawbacks:
Some websites break or limit functionality when cookies are blocked.
A small number of sites will ask you to enable cookies to proceed.
This is an acceptable trade for the reduction in tracking it provides.
Method 4: Review And Limit Your Social Media Exposure
Each photo you post reveals your location, habits, relationships, and your daily routine.
Each profile field you fill out adds to a database that marketers, data brokers, and sometimes criminals can reach.
Go through your social media privacy settings and restrict visibility to people you actually know.
Remove personal details from your public profile — workplace, date of birth, relationship status, and location information.
Be deliberate about what you post and when.
A photo posted from a location while you are still there tells anyone watching exactly where you are… and where you’re not.
Drawbacks:
Restricting social media exposure limits your ability to stay connected to professional networks and communities you value.
The goal is not to disappear completely.
The goal is to be deliberate about what you share and with whom.
Method 5: Cover Or Disable Cameras When Not In Use
Samantha’s case involved a GPS tracking app on her attacker’s phone.
But cameras in your own devices are equally vulnerable.
Laptop webcams have been accessed remotely by malware.
Smart doorbell cameras have been breached and live streamed without the owner’s knowledge.
Apply a physical cover to your laptop camera when you are not actively using it.
Audit your camera system and update default passwords on any device connected to your network.
Know who can view your camera feeds and whether that viewing permission has been shared with third parties.
Drawbacks:
Physical camera covers occasionally interfere with facial recognition used for device unlocking.
Choose a cover that can be slid aside quickly for legitimate use and shut right after.
These are your top priorities for digital privacy:
Priority 1: Install a reputable VPN and use it consistently.
This is the highest single-step reduction in your digital tracking exposure.
Set it to activate automatically whenever your device connects to any network.
Priority 2: Audit your app permissions this week.
Launch your device settings and spend fifteen minutes reviewing each application.
Revoke location, microphone, and camera permissions from any application that does not have a clear reason to require it.
Priority 3: Switch to a privacy-focused browser and search engine.
Brave browser with DuckDuckGo as your default search engine has no subscription fee and significantly reduces your daily tracking exposure.
This single change affects hundreds of interactions you have online each week.
Samantha did not know she was being tracked until her attacker showed up.
Your data is being gathered in ways you cannot always see or consent to.
