Wondering if your parents can see your internet history on the bill? No, your parents cannot see your internet history on the bill. The bill is unable to record destination addresses, sites, or web surfing. However, your parents will be able to see if you have made any purchases that were directly charged to your phone service, as those will be presented in the bill.
Internet history is a blanket term for a resource or tool in a Web browser that keeps constant track of the pages and sites that the user visits. Parents invading their children’s privacy by checking their internet history can be devastating and compromise the trust between both parties.
Are you worried about what your parents can view when it comes to your internet bill and history? Continue reading to find out exactly what they can and can not see, plus 5 tips to prevent parents from seeing your internet history!
Can Parents See What I Search on WiFi?
While your parents cannot see your internet history on the bill, they will be able to see what you search for on WiFi if they check the logs. All routers keep logs in order to store your WiFi history, and WiFi providers are able to check these logs and see your WiFi browsing history. WiFi admins can see all of your browsing history and even use a packet sniffer to intercept your private data.
Unfortunately, the things that can be monitored on WiFi aren’t only limited to your browsing history. There is so much more your WiFi provider can see.
These are things like the precise times you have been connected to the Internet, the total time you spent online and on a specific website, all of the URLs you visited on a website, as well as the unencrypted HTTP websites data. Your WiFi provider can also see the source and destination of IP addresses.
There are also lots of routers that come with a built-in tracking device from well-known companies like Netgear. When installed, a router like this will track your search activities and log all of your search histories so that the WiFi owners (also known as your parents) can easily check the websites you were visiting on the wireless connection.
On top of this, if your parents are technologically well-informed, they can also use specific software to check your browsing history, even if the router does not have a tracking feature.
Can Parents See Your History on Your Phone?
If you use your smartphone to search on the internet, your parents will still be able to see your browsing history, amongst other things. They can also see the apps you were using, the source and destination of IP addresses, and all unencrypted HTTP data of websites.
Along with all this, if your parents are invested enough, they will also be able to see your delicate data, such as your call and text logs, text and voice messages, along with your images and photos.
This is, of course, the perfect recipe for destroying your privacy and personal life. Unless you protect yourself with VPN encryption, you can never be fully confident in the security of your data and search history.
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HTTP vs. HTTPS
When you enter a website’s URL into your search bar, you may notice that each domain starts with HTTP:// (which means HYpertect Transfer Protocol) or HTTPS// (Which is an advanced version of HTTP, known as Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure).
There are the two types of transfer protocols that web browsers and websites use to receive and send data information over the web.
The most significant difference between these two protocols is that the implementation of a TLS or SSL certificate n top of HTTP. The TLS/SSL certificate is a global standard security technology that allows a secure communication between a web browser and a server.
This basically means that all of the data passing through an SSL-backed website is encrypted to a certain extent. If you visit a page on an HTTPS website, your parents will be unable to see the page’s content and what exactly you were searching for there. However, they will still be able to view the websites you visited and what pages were on the website that you opened.
How to Hide Your Browsing History From Your Parents
In general, your parents will be unable to see your personal search history. The point of using private search is to fully hide the search results without leaving a trace of your internet browsing. Incognito mode provides privacy to your activities online.
It erases the data you used during your internet session. Your ISP (internet service provider) will keep your internet history for 90 days, erasing it afterward.
You might think that clearing your internet browsing history deletes everything. This is not true, and in fact, it only erases the list of the websites and pages you visited.
Are you thinking of ways to hide your browsing history from your parents? You will be happy to hear that there are quite a few things you can do!
Related Reading: Can My Parents See My Incognito History?
1. Change your DNS settings
DNS settings (known as Domain Name Systems) are like the address books of the internet.
Your computer uses DNS settings to know where to navigate when you search a website or URL. DNS matches site names to IP addresses, making it possible for your browser to find the exact link you are looking for.
DNS certainly does nothing for your privacy. The system is triggered each and every time that you send an email, clock on a link, or type something into your browser.
This makes it possible for anyone to monitor your network and use this record to know exactly what you are up to.
2. Browse with Tor
The Tor network (more commonly known as the dark web) provides both an anonymous and safe way for you to browse online.
Tor stands for The Onion Router, and it routers your internet traffic through a random series of different servers. This hides the origin of your data and completely hides your identity.
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3. Use a VPN
Using a VPN is one of the most effective and easiest ways to bypass your parents’ prying eyes. When you are connected to a VPN server, you are able to mask your location and IP address and reroute your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel.
Using a VPN generally also changes the DNS settings on your machine to a more private one. Using VPN is also much faster than using Tor.
4. Install HTTPS Everywhere
Because half of the internet is yet to be encrypted, you will have to take extra caution to make sure you are browsing safe sites.
It deters your ISP from finding out what you are looking at by hiding all of the page contents, although they will still be able to tell what sites you were visiting.
5. Always Use a Privacy-Conscious Search Engine
The whole Google business model is built on tracking data and then using it for advertisements. They then collect the insights to produce products it thinks you might find useful.
The alternative is to use a privacy-conscious search engine such as DuckDuckgo. The privacy policy of this search engine clearly states that it will not store or track your data.
DuckDuckGpo takes a very different approach, which is not to collect any of your personal information. Your search history will always be safe from your parents because it can never be tied to you.
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Conclusion
Sometimes you will have your reason why you wouldn’t want your parents to find your browsing history, which is completely normal!
It doesn’t matter whether your parents never look through your phone or if they are always prying. It would be best for you and your parents’ relationship to explain to them how you feel when they look through your personal stuff.
Make sure to reassure them about any worries they have, including that you are not doing anything you shouldn’t be doing and that you know you can always turn to them when something bad happens.