Social media feeds and and search engine optimization have created a situation where many don't see anything (including news) that opposes their own points of view. The term "filter bubble" was first coined in 2011 by Eli Pariser when presenting a TED Talk on changes being made to Google that further personalize search results lists. In this talk, Pariser begins with Facebook as an example of the "filter bubbles" we now inhabit.
Facebook’s recommendation algorithm shows different news, groups, and hashtags to different users. But who sees what? Split Screen attempts to answer that question with real world data from paid panelists as part of The Markup's Citizen Browser project. Shows two weeks of data.
Privacy and Notification Settings
Use your phone’s Do Not Disturb option if it has one
Change notification settings on your phone for apps that tend to distract
Update your notification and privacy settings within apps and check policy changes frequently
Antitracking Extentions/Add-ons (for Safari, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox)
These examples happen to link to the Chrome Extension Store. Look for these where ever you find extensions / add-ons for your preferred browser
DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials - Turns default search to DuckDuckGo and blocks trackers
Privacy Badger - Privacy Badger automatically learns to block invisible trackers and allows you to opt out.
Distraction Free and Non Tracked Search
StartPage.com - same search results as Google but without tracking and profiling. Also distraction free and uncluttered
DuckDuckGo.com - same search results as Bing but without tracking and profiling
SimpleSearch Extension/ Add-on (Chrome and Firefox only) - This extension highlights “ten blue link”-type search results over infoboxes and other content. Works with Bing and Google.