Online Tracking Technologies and Web Privacy

In my PhD thesis, I would like to study the problem of online privacy with a focus on Web and mobile applications. Key research questions to be addressed by my study are the following: How can we formalize and quantify web tracking? What are the threats presented against privacy by different tracking techniques such as browser fingerprinting and cookie based tracking? What kind of privacy enhancing technologies (PET) can be used to ensure privacy without degrading service quality?
The study is divided into two parts: in the former part, an extensive analysis of online privacy threats with a focus on Web based systems will be performed. Thiswill be followed by the real-world design and implementation of a privacy-preserving Web based application that supports service personalization and customization without privacy compromises.