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Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

theguardian.com

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Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#91
post #51
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crashlytics isn't ads. It's crash reporting. Mixpanel isn't ads, it's analytics.

Quote in the article, directly from Crashlytics: > "and get insight into your users, what they’re doing, and inject live social content to delight them." It's also analytics, and ads.

I guess that's a feature it offers, but like most people I've used it solely for crash reporting.

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#92
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your input. I think the best thing you could do here is to set your moral compass and follow it no matter what. That includes speaking up when the line between "market research" and "surveillance" is crossed under your watch. The fact that you aren't a mindless revenue robot (I have worked with them) is a good start.

One cannot follow their moral compass in an abusive industry - they cannot change their environment, the environment changes them. The only thing OP can do is quit, but let's be honest here... they've been in the industry for a while and they're ok with what's happening. How do I know that? Tomorrow they'll go to work and they will work on ads and tracking. Always follow what people do, not what they say. Posting on…

True. Thanks for keeping me honest.

The irony is that most people, including me, would be willing to sign up for limited tracking if and only if we had transparency and strong guarantees about data governance, sharing, deletion, and ultimate/final control by the person being tracked. The ads really are better. But greed is greed, and people can't help themselves.

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#93
post #58
post #15

"Many of these trackers are also available in the Apple iOS app store, though technical and legal barriers limit privacy and security analysis ." https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/isp-privacy-lab-publishe... And from https://boingboing.net/2017/11/25/la-la-la-cant-hear-you.htm... : "As Exodus and Yale note, these trackers are almost certainly also present in iOS: the companies that make them advertise their iOS com…

Worse still - on iOS there's no way to block this kind of stuff. On Android there's both VPN and hosts file based blockers as well as extremely capable tools like XPrivacy for those who really want to get down and dirty. Try launching one of the top games with XPrivacy installed. You get to click allow for the dev's server and block to 5+ 3rd party analytics, crash reporting and ad services. I'm sure many of these pr…

Try Adguard's DNS content blocker. I bought the pro version to control access with a custom VPN, and that enables it to filter your cellular traffic, not just wifi. The app runs a local VPN on your iPhone, and you can block analytics domains. Here are some things I've blacklisted and prevented common apps from connecting to: settings.crashlytics.com data.flurry.com graph.facebook.com google-analytics.com adobemobiledev.sc.omtrdc.net api.leanplum.com

So you can deny connections to a lot of shady websites, and in total I'm blocking around 100 different domains.

No more web fonts from Google, no Facebook or social media connections through apps or websites, and it's great.

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#94
post #83

I can’t say I’m thrilled with using Crashlytics in my own iOS apps, but I’m not aware of any better options when it comes to crash tracking. A handful of crashes come in through Apple’s opt in crash report sharing but when compared to the data I’m getting from Crashlytics, it’s clear that a lot of info is missing. If I relied only on manually submitted bug reports and what Apple is telling me, I never would’ve come t…

It's not privacy vs stability, that's a favourite red herring around here. The problem is your development process is not capable of producing stable enough software. I don't know why that's the case, but you should work on that first. Deming: "Inspection does not improve the quality, nor guarantee quality. Inspection is too late. The quality, good or bad, is already in the product. As Harold F. Dodge said, “You can…

I see what you’re getting at, but the reality is that there’s only so far massaging and rethinking your process can take you. No matter what you do, some number of bugs are going to find their way through. There’s going to be unforeseen combinations of variables and edge cases you’d never predict. The best one can ever do is reduce the frequency of occurrence to a minimum. Bugs are an inevitability, and I’d rather not be at the mercy of my users when it comes to finding out about them.

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, I agree completely. I work on a relatively well known app, and we use Crashlytics to monitor crashes (duh), and other tracking software to reduce friction in the app. We don't care who tapped button A instead of button B, we just want to know how many people tapped button A instead of button B.

You don't care, but we can be reasonable sure that Crashlytics has access to that data. Even if they don't use it that with ill intent themselves (there's really no way to know one way or the other), we can also be reasonably sure that it won't stay secure with them forever.

All the data is anonymous, though: the only identifying info we're sending them is an internal Customer ID.

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a way to get more value in exchange for my online privacy? Would be interested to find out a way to get more value out of an asset I don't value highly.

No. It's a flawed premise, since you are not actually part of the negotiation. You are not the customer, you are the product being traded. The only way you can change this is to insist on your privacy being respected, by using tools to inhibit tracking, and by voting with your wallet, by choosing services and vendors who respect your right to privacy.

>You are not the customer, you are the product being traded.

Yes and this is fine with me. I don't see why this is such an abhorrent concept. I want something (content) without paying (money) for it. Instead I pay with access to my data and behavior.

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I disagree. I don't have a lot of money but I like reading articles and playing games. I don't place any significant value on my personal information, privacy, and security, so why not trade it away? I'd much rather do that than have to start paying for games, news, articles, etc.

Because you're selling it for way way too cheap.

Can you give examples of who's paying the most?

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. It's a flawed premise, since you are not actually part of the negotiation. You are not the customer, you are the product being traded. The only way you can change this is to insist on your privacy being respected, by using tools to inhibit tracking, and by voting with your wallet, by choosing services and vendors who respect your right to privacy.

>You are not the customer, you are the product being traded. Yes and this is fine with me. I don't see why this is such an abhorrent concept. I want something (content) without paying (money) for it. Instead I pay with access to my data and behavior.

And you're perfectly fine with not being able to negotiate the price? You're a base commodity, traded between two entities that you have very little actual information about, and you have no way of influencing the price for which your data is sold, or where it goes.

To me, that is outrageously dystopian.

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you're selling it for way way too cheap.

Can you give examples of who's paying the most?

No, because they don't want you to have this information. You are not supposed to be an informed partner, just a product being sold and traded, like a sack of grain.

And this doesn't deeply disturb you?

Re: Three quarters of Android apps track users with third party tools

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you give examples of who's paying the most?

No, because they don't want you to have this information. You are not supposed to be an informed partner, just a product being sold and traded, like a sack of grain. And this doesn't deeply disturb you?

No, not at all. I get what I want (games/articles/videos) and I give up something I don't value at all.

The idea of telling me, "you're undervaluing it!" and then saying there's no way to get more value out of it seems ridiculous.

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