You hate being watched, so you bought a VPN. The next day, you get an ad for something you never googled. Conclusion: your phone is listening to what you say. Right? Wrong!
It isn't listening. You don't need to google something for Google to find out what you are looking for.
Almost every significant website on the internet runs analytics scripts. These are designed to record your behavior and send it to companies like Google to be analyzed for their ad engine.
How do I get rid of it?
Maybe you need to ask another question: am I aware of my internet presence?
The reality is: you can't get rid of it. It will always be running every time you visit that website. You can install extensions, VPNs, etc, but that is like playing a game of whack-the-mole. Google and Meta are always coming up with new ways to expand the amount of data they collect. Their whole "empire" is built on this data foundation, so they couldn't possibly tolerate something that goes against that.
Knowing that you are being watched is already half the battle, so congratulations!
References
- Usage Statistics and Market Share of Traffic Analysis Tools for Websites — W3Techs (2026). https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/traffic_analysis
Instagram