101–110 of 450 posts
Greed and monetization of user's data - this is the only real business model which brings profit. There is, probably, already a long queue of customers willing to pay for the data.
And, of course, "anonymity" is nonsense. The whole point of collecting data is to classify users into target groups and model user's behavior. In other words - to collect the data for machine learning algorithms and sell access to the datasets and other services.
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I think Mozilla's boldness in stating the plan to systematically leak user information, is a tipping point. Will increase usage of Opera, Midori, Chromium. As for Tor integration with Firefox, that really is a shame, I hope Tor integrates with something else.
It's not "stating the plan", it's calling for feedback. If you disagree, provide feedback :)
That includes:
1. You can not collect anything without explicit opt-in
2. You can not transmit any data to a third party
3. If a user requests it, you have to provide all data stored about them, and have to provide a way for them to delete all of that. (And you have to provide this at least once every 12 months via letter, fax or email for free) (compare §34 BDSG)
The single largest advantage of Firefox over other browsers is that despite all odds and occasional missteps they managed to respect users' desire for complete privacy. For Firefox we want to better understand how people use our product to improve their experience. Sure thing. But the fact that they are unhappy that some (many?) people are opting-out from the data collection is merely a sign that they don't want to u…
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> Any submission of data requires the transmission of an IP address, which is personal data and necessitates appropriate protection. And requires an opt-in under EU law, which makes this entire thing even more ridiculous.
Then don't send the correct source IP address, with simple statistics gathering like this I hardly expect they require a response. It would mean there would be no personal data whatsoever.
"If Firefox is dedicated to preserving privacy, then no Opt-in data feature should be added. " I really don't understand this of the user, while previous sentence he writes: "but I will say that I believe Opt-in is pro-privacy, while Opt-out is anti-privacy."
Note: "planning" means "reaching out for feedback about". Also interesting: the method they plan on using for anonymising this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_privacy#Principle... If that is not sufficiently anonymous, then please submit the reasoning why to Mozilla.
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It's not "stating the plan", it's calling for feedback. If you disagree, provide feedback :)
Oh, it’s simple. Just comply with EU law, and it’s all okay. That includes: 1. You can not collect anything without explicit opt-in 2. You can not transmit any data to a third party 3. If a user requests it, you have to provide all data stored about them, and have to provide a way for them to delete all of that. (And you have to provide this at least once every 12 months via letter, fax or email for free) (compare §3…
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They claim is biased but is it really biased? How do they know? I think this is just making up excuses so they can collect more data. They get good enough data from the people that have volunteered it. I don't know what makes them think it's biased but I seriously doubt that is true.
Because, usually the kind of people that’d opt in are techies/power users or work (volunteer, or paid) for Mozilla themselves. Let’s say only 1% of your userbase opts in to this, how is that not biased? (As it currently stands, I believe this is a further optin in a tucked away menu).
> What we plan to do now is run an opt-out SHIELD study [6] to validate our implementation of RAPPOR. IMHO, this is a bad idea. Many people I know already use Firefox because they're weary to give Google (Chrome) all their data. Firefox should make this feature opt-in only.
It's not just about the data, it's about the lack of consent. If you just ask people for permission on the initial startup, I'm sure most people will be fine with enabling it. Last time I installed Firefox, it just showed a tiny bar at the bottom of the window, which is pretty easy to miss. I'd expect fewer dark patterns from Mozilla, that's the kind of shady behavior you see coming from Microsoft. I always try my best to disable or block anything which phones home without explicitly asking for consent.
Tunnelblick [0] is a good example of this being done well. On the initial run they ask if you want to enable automatic updates. It includes the option to disable sending anonymous system information, as well as including a disclosure widget with a brief explanation and a table showing the information that would be sent. [1]
