If you did your best to clear your browser history, opt out of data collection, and even researched what a VPN is in the wake of last week's internet privacy legislation, good job. But, it seems that internet users aren't the only ones reacting to the legislation. Pornhub, which requires no introduction, announced that it will now use HTTPS encryption to keep its user's browsing habits as private as possible.
According to Engadget, HTTPS encrypts the connection between your browser and any servers that it connects to. No, that doesn't mean that you'll be magically invisible thanks to the extra layer of protection, but it does mean that almost all of your browsing gets concealed aside from top-level domains. So, yes, someone can dig a bit and know that you visited Pornhub, but beyond that, they can't get into what you did while you were browsing the site, what videos you pulled up, or what you searched for.
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"Here at Pornhub, with more than 70 million daily visitors, we wanted to continue our concerted effort to maximize the privacy of our users, ensuring that what they do on our platform remains strictly confidential," Corey Price, Pornhub's vice president, said in a statement. "At the end of the day, we want every single one of them to feel safe and secure on our platform."
Engadget adds that while many sites around the 'net have already adopted HTTPS encryption, adult sites haven't been as quick as online retailers and news outlets. In fact, a Google Transparency Report found that only "three out of 11 adult websites listed are HTTPS."
With 70 million daily visitors, the streaming site is setting a precedent that shows sites and internet users alike are not happy to have data shared without their consent or knowledge.
While it's not a perfect solution to keeping browsing history 100% private, HTTPS encryption is a huge step forward. If you want to make sure that your data is under wraps, we've got some tips.