You may not be as anonymous online as you think!

Incognito browsers, pseudonym posts, there are number of ways to hide your identity on the Internet, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are invisible to all. Being anonymously online is harder than you think.

Browsing the net for just half an hour can reveal your identity, with the help of a unique digital signature assigned to you based on your general internet usage and browsing style. Believe it or not, your browsing behaviour can say a lot about your personality, a new study has revealed.

“Our research suggests a person’s personality traits can be deduced by their general internet usage. This differs from other studies that have only looked at the use of social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter,” lead author Dr Ikusan R. Adeyemi of the Universiti Teknologi said.

Online marketers have been using the information to tailor their product to a specific audience. The data has been useful to develop intelligent internet service that can predict and personalize a user’s experience. But before you jump to the conclusion that it is a violation of privacy, let us tell you that the data on online behaviour can also be used in a complementary way to increase security for online identification and authentication. Law enforcement agencies can also apply the findings in the investigation of online crime cases.