A NEW browser is rewarding people for surfing the internet.
A Canadian tech firm called Surf gives users points every time they use the browser and these can be saved up to redeem as gift cards or discounts.
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The likes of Google and Facebook make money by selling some of your online habit data to retailers.
Surf sells similar data but rewards users for providing it.
Big brands have already signed up to work with Surf including Dyson, Foot Locker and Crocs.
Unfortunately, Surf is very much still it’s it limited release phase and is currently only available to some users in the US and Canada.
Although Surf sells your data, it’s not as dangerous as it sounds.
Personal and identifying information like email addresses and phone numbers are not collected.
You also don’t have to provide your real name.
You will be asked for your age, gender and general location but you don’t have to provide these either.
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Brands buy data like this for numerous reasons.
If they know the average surfing habits of a certain age category then they know how to best target them with adverts.
It’s currently unclear how much individuals can earn on Surf.
However, it has said it collectively let users earn $1.2million (£960,000).
Surf user Aminah Al-Noor told the BBC: “All tech companies are going to collect our information, but the point is to make our experiences using the technology better, right.”
The 21-year-old student added: “You can pick what you want to give Surf.
“And other times I forget that I have it on, and a week later I will check, and my points just keep going up.”
The Surf extension can be added to Chrome browsers for free.
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