I know almost nothing about computers, so I can’t follow any of the solutions here. So, is there a simple answer? Can I just buy a different brand, like Apple?
I guess it really boils down to how important privacy is to you.
I make efforts to protect my privacy, but that’s mostly only by educating myself and doing my due diligence when it doesn’t cost me too much time or money. I don’t go way above and beyond. I value privacy, but I’m not paranoid.
The number one thing I always do that I think helps more than anything else is always run my browsers in privacy mode. I personaly recommend firefox, but I’ve heard brave is good and proton came out with a browser too I think. Don’t use Edge!
I started doing this over 10 years ago, and do you know what never happens to me that happens to a lot of people?
I don’t see ads related to my previous searches. They are all very generic and tend to be more geographically related than anything else. But if I happen to get on other people’s computers, suddenly there are ads for hemorrhoid cream or lift bras or trailer hitches. heh.
Go into your browser’s settings and tell it to “Never remember my browsing history” and “clear my history when this browser closes”. It will do wonders.