Cookies: Turning Your Data into Profit

TL;DR: Every free app or website is secretly a marketplace where you are being sold. Tiny pieces of data called cookies quietly build a profile of your habits and interests. These profiles are then auctioned off in milliseconds to the highest bidder (advertisers), turning your attention into cash. Let's dive deep into the tracking ecosystem, from cookie mechanics to ad tech auctions, monetization strategies, and how you can fight back.

🎭 The Cosmic Digital: Where You’re the Product

"You clicked on a shoe once. For the next 10 days, the internet followed you like a lost puppy in sneakers."

Imagine walking through a glowing neon market at night. Every billboard, every screen, every sensor is silently watching you. You're not a customer here, you're the merchandise. This is the digital surveillance carnival of modern internet life.

On the surface, the internet appears to be free: email, content, apps, and social platforms. But in exchange for that convenience, you pay with your data.

The currency? Cookies, trackers, location data, device IDs, everything that builds a behavioral profile.

You may have heard: “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.*” That isn’t just a quote, it’s a functioning economy. Ad platforms like Google and Facebook have perfected the art of *profiling and auctioning attention, and most users don’t even know it’s happening.

🪑 Personal Storytime: The Ad That Followed Me Home

A few years ago, I searched for a minimalist wooden chair late at night. The next morning, it was everywhere. Instagram, YouTube, blog sidebars, even Spotify banners. I didn't buy it, but the ad engine thought I was ready. That one search turned into a 10-day campaign. I was the target. And that's when I knew something deeper was going on.

🍩 Cookies 101: Breadcrumbs or Chains?

Cookies are tiny text files stored by websites on your browser. There are two main kinds:

First-party cookies: Set by the site you're on, used to keep you logged in, remember your preferences, or save your cart.
Third-party cookies: Set by someone else, like an ad platform, analytics tool, or social widget embedded on that page.

These third-party cookies are the silent agents that track you across the internet.

Here's what happens:

You visit xyznews.com, which includes scripts from ad networks and trackers.
These scripts set cookies in your browser: fbp**, ga, etc.
Every time you visit another site with the same tracker, that cookie sends data back: what you looked at, how long you stayed, what you clicked.
These IDs are stitched together to form a persistent, evolving profile.

Cookie looking right at ya

⚡ Real-Time Bidding: The Auction for Your Attention

Every time you visit a page with ad space, this happens:

Your cookie profile is sent to multiple ad platforms.
An auction starts, and advertisers bid in real time to show you their ad.
In milliseconds, the highest bidder wins, and you see their ad.

This system is called programmatic advertising or real-time bidding (RTB). It’s why ads “follow” you.

Fun fact: When Google disabled cookies for some test users, publishers saw ad revenue drop by over 50%.

That’s how valuable your data is.

How websites keep tabs on you

📊 Click ➜ Auction ➜ Ad Seen

You Search for Sneakers → Page loads with tracking scripts → Your profile is read from cookie (_fbp, _ga, etc.) → Data sent to multiple ad exchanges → Real-time bidding begins → Highest bidder wins in ~100ms → You see Nike ad on next random site → Brand pays, ad network profits, site gets revenue, you just got sold.

How websites track you

💰 The Economics of You: How Your Data Gets Monetized

Even without knowing your name, ad platforms can:

Bucket you by age, interests, income level, and behavior
Assign you to segments like "Tech-savvy, urban male, 20–25"
Let brands bid to show ads to that segment

All of this runs invisibly under the hood, without explicit consent in most cases.

You aren’t just using the internet. You are the inventory.

🕵️ Beyond Cookies: Fingerprinting and Pixels

Even if you block cookies, trackers use:

Browser fingerprinting: Collecting your browser's unique traits (screen size, fonts, plugins)
Canvas fingerprinting: Drawing invisible graphics to identify rendering behavior
IP + Location tracking
Invisible pixels: One-pixel images that load from ad servers to “check in” as you browse

The goal? Track you, even without cookies.

🧪 Mini Case Study: Cambridge Analytica & Your Likes

Cambridge Analytica harvested Facebook data from millions of users via a quiz app. With as few as 10 Facebook Likes, they could predict your political leanings, relationship status, and even intelligence level. The goal wasn’t just to advertise to you, it was to influence your beliefs.

That’s how powerful behavioral data can be.

🧨 Controversy: Apple vs Facebook, IDFA Armageddon

In 2021, Apple rolled out App Tracking Transparency (ATT), requiring apps to ask for permission before tracking users via IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers). Users said no.

The result? Facebook claimed it would lose over $10 billion in ad revenue. Small businesses dependent on cheap, targeted ads also got hit hard.

Apple’s move didn’t just affect tech.

It disrupted an entire advertising economy.

When you see:

"Allow necessary cookies? Allow all? Manage preferences?"

Here’s what’s happening:

✅ Necessary: Core site functionality (login, preferences)
📊 Analytics: Track user behavior (optional)
🎯 Marketing: Ad targeting (should be opt-in by law)

But many banners are dark-patterned to push you to “Accept All”.

Consenting to all the cookies it consenting to your data

🛡️ How to Take Control of Your Data

As a User:

Use browsers like Brave, Firefox, or Safari
Block trackers with uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Ghostery
Use incognito or clear cookies regularly
Use Consent-O-Matic to automate cookie rejections
Say NO to “Accept All”

As a Developer or Founder:

Use first-party analytics (Plausible, Umami, PostHog)
Minimize 3rd-party scripts and trackers
Respect DNT headers and GDPR/CCPA requirements
Educate users with transparent banners

Imagine a browser extension that:

Shows all cookies grouped by type
Tracks which companies are watching you
Scores websites by privacy friendliness
Let users opt out site by site

"Transparency is the new trust."

🚀 TL;DR

Cookies = convenience + surveillance
Ad networks auction your profile every time you load a page
Even if you opt out of cookies, other trackers still follow you
Most users blindly accept cookies and give away their privacy
Tools exist to help you fight back, and ethical tech is the way forward

Want a downloadable PDF version with all visuals? Drop your email or DM me on Twitter, and I’ll send you the illustrated breakdown.

Stay aware. Stay private. Stay curious.

— Hardikk Kamboj

🍪 You Are the Product: How Cookies Turn Your Data into Profit

Table of contents

🎭 The Cosmic Digital: Where You’re the Product