'Stop selling or sharing my personal information': Research finds that Big Tech could be tracking you even when you've opted out

Date:
Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:05:00 +0000

Description:
Explicit requests not to be tracked are being ignored, even in US states
where such privacy matters are law.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Pro Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter webXray audit finds Google, Microsoft, and Meta ignoring Global Privacy Control signals Despite legal requirements in California and other states, 55% of sites still set ad cookies after optouts Report highlights Googles 86% failure rate, Microsofts oneyear tracking cookie, and Metas continued event logging; potential $5.8B liability
projected Big tech companies such as Google , Microsoft , and Meta, are completely ignoring peoples explicit requests not to be tracked, or to have their browsing data sold to third parties. This is according to a new
forensic audit recently conducted by webXray, a search engine for analyzing internet tracking, traffic, and content.

Earlier this year, webXray published the March 2026 California Privacy Audit, in which it said that even when users explicitly invoke the Global Privacy Control (GPC), 194 online advertising services were still setting tracking cookies. GPC is a browser signal that tells websites users dont want their data sold or shared. While this is a technical standard, there are certain US laws requiring companies to honor it. For example, laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the California Privacy Rights Act, have made GPC legally binding, with regulators in the country saying a valid GPC signal
must be treated as an opt-out request. Article continues below You may like Big Tech needs less than a month to pay off over $7 billion in 2025 fines, Proton warns Staff are seeing a lot more from our smart glasses than we might want Brits are turning their backs on US Big Tech and looking to Europe for privacy Major liability exposure According to Cybernews, GPC has legal authority in four US states as of today, and even in those territories - some companies are ignoring it entirely.

While working on the California Privacy Audit, webXray analyzed thousands of popular websites in California and found that more than half (55%) set ad cookies despite user opt-outs. Among them is Google, with a failure rate of 86%.

When a user invokes GPC, the company allegedly creates a two-year IDE advertising cookie. Microsoft, on the other hand, returns a one-year MUID tracking cookie, while Meta records tracking events regardless of the users privacy settings.

So far, none of the companies called out in the report have commented on the findings. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

They soon might, however, since the reports authors believe there is grounds for a class-action lawsuit here. In fact, they project a potential aggregate liability exposure of $5.8 billion across the industry.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/stop-selling-or-sharing-my-personal-inf ormation-research-finds-that-big-tech-could-be-tracking-you-even-when-youve-op ted-out


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