The Internet has become an indispensable part of our lives with an ocean of information on our fingertips. You search for almost everything from professional to extremely personal stuff. But wait! Have you ever wondered, “Can anyone see what you search on the internet?” Unfortunately, the answer is “YES”, nowadays, your data has become worth the weight of gold, where every entity is after it. Read further to look at the potential onlookers and how to get rid of them.
Who’s Seeing Your Searches?
Many of them are in search of a chance to get their hands on your data. List down are a few that you should keep in your mind:
Search Engines
Big players like Google, Bing, and others are tracking your search queries. This information is used in an attempt to customize your search results, personalize your ads, and improve their algorithms. If you’re logged into your account, that data is usually being connected directly to you. Example: Have you ever searched for a product, and then started seeing ads for that product on websites? That’s targeted advertising based on search history.
Web Browsers
Your browsers like Chrome, Edge, or FireFox keep a record of the websites or products you search for. Their purpose to track your browsing history is to improve your experience, offer features like autofill, and in some cases, for their own analytics or for third parties. Example: the history tab on your browser helps you to revisit the websites you searched for previously.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
Your ISP, or the company that provides your internet access can see the names of the domains that you visit, and for your unencrypted (HTTP) websites, they may even see the pages you visited and the search query you made. They may keep record of your online usage for various reasons, for example, to manage their networks or for legal purposes, or for targeted advertising. Example: If you are shopping for furniture on a shopping website, your ISP may not see the furniture you are looking at (if you are on HTTPS) but they can see you frequent that website.
WiFi Network Owners
Shared WiFi networks like work, school, or a public place are likely to see your online activities through the network administrator. Home network administrators can also monitor your activities if they choose to.
Website and Apps
The sites you visit and the apps you use are able to keep track of how you interact with their platform through the use of “cookies” and other tracking devices. This information is used to customize your experience, remember your selections, and advertise to you. For instance, once you log in to a social media platform, the app tracks your activity, including what posts you read, who you interact with, and what you have searched on the app.
Hackers
If your network or device is compromised by malware, hackers can easily gain access to your online activities and extract your data leading to malicious activities or identity thefts.
Governments & Law Enforcements
With a legal warrant, government agencies and law enforcement can sometimes request access to, or otherwise obtain your search history from ISPs or search engine companies, for investigations.
The Illusion of Incognito Mode
You believe that you are safe using incognito mode and your online activities are invisible. While this private browsing mode prevents your browser from saving your browsing history, cookies, or data from your device, they are unable to hide your online activities from ISPs, network administrators, or the websites you visit. These entities can still see and keep a record of your online movements.
How to Take Control Over Your Privacy?
While keeping online anonymity is quite difficult, you can take a few steps to boost your privacy and limit who can see what you search on the internet. Let;s explore the ways to enhance your privacy:
- Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A VPN encrypts your internet connection, rerouting you through a server of your desired location, by masking your real IP address, making it difficult for your ISP, network administrator, and websites to track your online activities. The most reliable VPN is PureVPN, offering more than 6500 fast optimized servers with robust security features for a smooth and secured user experience.
- Privacy-Focused Browsers
Some browsers are privacy-focused by design and offer built-in bypasses for trackers and anonymity. Mozilla Firefox offers enhanced tracking protection, or even the Tor Browser, to name a couple.
- Privacy-Focused Search Engines
Try using search engines like DuckDuckGo or Startpage as they do not track your online activities nor they store your personal data.
- Blockers for Tracking
Browser add-ons such as Privacy Badger or uBlock Origin can stop third-party trackers and cookies from being used to collect data on your browsing trends.
- Clear Browser History and Cookies
While it does not necessarily stop tracking in the moment, clearing your browsing history clears recognition from your local device.
- Secure Connections (HTTPS)
Ensure to use HTTPS on the websites you visit, as HTTPS encrypts the communication between your web browser and a website, making it more difficult for someone else to intercept it. You will see the padlock icon in the address bar.
- Permissions and Private Browsing
When you’re installing apps, for example, make sure that you are aware of the permissions they are asking for (especially internet access and personal data.) Moreover, this isn’t an exact science that is going to fully protect your privacy, but incognito or private browsing mode can be useful in instances when you are sharing a device or simply don’t want your browsing session to save on the local device.
How to Securely Access Internet From Anywhere in 2025
To securely access internet, follow these steps:
- Subscribe to PureVPN.
- Download the VPN app on your device.
- Connect to a server of your country such as USA.
- Head over to internet Browser, refresh or use incognito mode.
- Voila Internet is now securely accessible with anonymous IP!
Can People See What Was Searched on their WiFi Network?
Indeed, the owner or administrator of a WiFi network can potentially access what websites were visited and search queries made (depending on encryption), from devices connected to their network. Whether they can see the sites visited and search queries made usually depends on the router settings and the use of monitoring tools.
Can Someone See Your Search History If You Delete It?
Even if you delete your search history from your device, it may still be retained by your internet service provider (ISP), or search engine for some time. They may keep any of the above data for their own reasons, whether it is for legal reasons or for business reasons. So the best solution is to use a trustworthy VPN like PureVPN to protect your searches from anyone seeing.
Wrapping Up: Your Digital Footprint on the Web
In summary, there are many people and organizations, such as search engines, ISPs, or network administrators, who can see your web searches and online activities. While it is hard to be completely anonymous, following privacy-friendly habits and opting for VPNs and privacy-centric browsers can help increase your online privacy quite a bit. Knowing who might be watching you is part of the empowerment you need to surf safely worldwide.
FAQs
Yes, internet providers can see what you search on the web. However, if the websites use HTTPS then they can’t see the specific pages you browse or search what you search on that website.
An owner of a WiFi network may see the sites you visit and, if they are technically savvy enough for it, they may even be able to see the search queries you made on the sites. Usually all this is recorded in the router logs.
To stop your internet provider from seeing your search history, use a reliable VPN like PureVPN to encrypt your internet traffic, making it inaccessible to them.
Tanzeel Ahmed
May 20, 2025
2 days ago
