Valentine’s Day is getting near and it’s always the same question that gives you a headache — what kind of gift to buy for your sweetheart? Let’s be real, shopping for a gift for your significant other or someone you fancy can be a bit of a drag. You want to surprise them, you’re making a secret reservation, you just want to give them something they would never think of — these are the reasons why you want your Google searches to be private. But they aren’t.

Why it’s important to be anonymous when shopping for gifts?

Shared Wi-Fi or shared device with your significant other. Especially, if you live together and use the same WiFi or even the same laptop or PC — once you search for something, a certain word combo, a certain gift name, Google remembers it. It can show up as an autosuggestion once your significant other starts typing in something similar. So, they’ll know you searched for a gift, which is not a bad thing in its entirety, but you still want it to be a secret.

Remarketing. If you’ve visited a few pages or looked up some gifts or products but didn’t buy them, there’s a high chance you’ll see the good old remarketing. It means, that the products you’ve looked up will now appear everywhere you turn — Facebook ads, Google ads and more. It’s not that difficult to figure out you’ve searched for a ring if your Facebook feed is stuffed with ring ads, promoted posts from various ring creators, jewelry stores and etc.

Personal information can get stolen. There are all kinds of scammy websites that just want to rip you off and it’s very easy to do when there’s an occasion such as Valentine’s Day. If you’re not careful, you’ll not only be left without your ordered gift, but without your credit card credentials too. Also, if you have a shared bank account, you probably don’t want your significant other to see what you’ve just paid for. It’s recommended to use gift cards/vouchers or a secondary card where you don’t have all of your savings.

How to stay secure and private when shopping online?

VPN. If you decided to go to a coffee shop or any other similar place (to avoid shared WiFi), public WiFi can pose even more dangers — you can get easily hacked or lose your data when connected to unsecured wireless network. A VPN is your go to, because it encrypts your Internet traffic and all your online information, as well as personal data. You can forget about data leaks with a VPN.

A VPN is very easy to use and is a must have software if you are concerned about your online privacy. VPN services usually support multiple devices and are available on all platforms, so you can browse for gifts via desktop in a coffee shop, or when traveling via commute on your mobile phone. It’s important to use a reputable VPN provider and I personally recommend these, as they are reputable and offer pretty good discounts (which you’ll need, if you’re going to buy something expensive or fancy):

NordVPN (3-year subscription for only $2.99/month, 75% discount). Need an app? No problem, you can download NordVPN on Android and other systems.

(3-year subscription for only $2.99/month, 75% discount). Need an app? No problem, you can download NordVPN on Android and other systems. ExpressVPN (15 months for $6.67/month, 49% discount)

(15 months for $6.67/month, 49% discount) Surfshark (2-year subscription for $1.99/month, 83% discount)

(2-year subscription for $1.99/month, 83% discount) IPVanish (1-year subscription for $6.49/month, 46% discount)

Just pair a VPN service with the following tips and your sweetheart will have no clue until you surprise them with the best gift possible.

Your browser’s Incognito or Private window. These windows will allow you to browse without saving your search history. Why not just use this? Well, it’s been proven numerous times that browsers still retain data, even when you use Incognito mode.

Don’t use the autofill function. Some websites can have hidden autofill fields that can get more than your password or security number or similar. While it might take some time, better type in all the information yourself.

Privacy extensions. These privacy extensions not only block various trackers and cookies (for remarketing), don’t let you visit scammy websites, block various ads but also protect you:

uBlock Origin (the best ad blocker there is in the market)

(the best ad blocker there is in the market) Privacy Badger (blocks trackers, third-party resources and cookies)

(blocks trackers, third-party resources and cookies) HTTPS everywhere (makes all the websites https instead of http, which means it adds a layer of security).

Conclusion

Be sure to follow these steps and you’ll be anonymous when shopping for Valentine’s gifts for sure. Safe shopping is important, as cyber crimes are increasing at an alarming rate. Of course, be mindful of scammy looking websites, try your best to read reviews about sellers or websites — maybe these are known for all the wrong reasons. Following these steps and taking care of your online privacy should not just be at this occasion, but for shopping safely online in general.

Now you’re all setup for buying the best possible gift for someone special with them having no clue about it!