In an experiment called Footprints, Stanford University researchers found that online anonymity is just an illusion as using smart algorithms to analyse which websites people access online and who they follow on Twitter can reveal who a particular user is with great accuracy.
During the first day of the experiment, the team was able to identify 11 out of 13 volunteers. Out of the total of 300 people who took part in the study the algorithm was able to identify 80 per cent.
“I think the first thing I messaged was: ‘This is kind of scary,’” said Stanford undergraduate Ansh Shukla, a senior studying mathematics who is working on the project with Stanford Engineering assistant professor Sharad Goel and Stanford computer science PhD student Jessica Su.
Participants in the experiment gave the researchers permission to gather information about which websites they accessed from Twitter. By comparing the accessed links with whom these people followed, the identity...