How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers • Hacker News Board

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#141

Post by gureddio » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 10:43 AM UTC

1propionyl wrote: post #53

I'm surprised I haven't seen a single comment say what ought to be the obvious: the easiest way to never see Facebook ads is to just not use Facebook. I should hope I'm preaching to the choir, I'm sure, but... quitting really isn't as hard as you tell yourself it is. It's not as essential as you think it is.

I suspected I'd enter the comments and see this sort of comment. I don't feel like the author is telling us how to block ads on facebook - they are just exploring the techniques that facebook use to sidestep ad-blockers

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#142

Post by markosaric » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 10:46 AM UTC

gorgoiler wrote: post #108

Relatedly, uBlock Origin’s picker has really improved my quality of life on Facebook. I love Facebook, it’s my only remaining connection to some people, and it’s revived many friendships I thought I’d lost. However, as one gets on in life, People You May Know can be extremely emotionally impactful. It is a little part of the web UI that brings back the dead, ex partners I still miss, exes who have moved on, and toxic…

I love that feature. Use it for all the different things that I don't like to see, that distract me etc. Some of the "annoyances" filters are great too to remove most of those cookie notices and other stuff. They're not on by default but easy to switch on in the uBlock origin settings.

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#143

Post by yccheok » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 10:48 AM UTC

Don't let Facebook get away with this!

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#144

Post by maury91 » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 10:50 AM UTC

I wrote a similar article some time ago with a look at how to detect them and remove them from the DOM. It was mostly for didactic reasons.

https://medium.com/hackernoon/how-i-get-rid-of-the-new-spons...

but my approach was to use Javascript instead of CSS

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#145

Post by markosaric » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 10:53 AM UTC

1propionyl wrote: post #53

I'm surprised I haven't seen a single comment say what ought to be the obvious: the easiest way to never see Facebook ads is to just not use Facebook. I should hope I'm preaching to the choir, I'm sure, but... quitting really isn't as hard as you tell yourself it is. It's not as essential as you think it is.

It may be the easiest way but it's not that easy for people hooked on it.

I still have an account but I rarely log in (perhaps couple of times per year and when I do it's with Firefox Containers and with cookies cleared after log out plus I block third-party connections from Facebook and its domains), but Facebook is more than Facebook.

A lot of people I know spend way more time on Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger then they do on Facebook itself so it will be difficult for them to not use it.

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#146

Post by fghtr » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 10:57 AM UTC

SmellyGeekBoy wrote: post #123

Nextgrid wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not opt-in when the cancer has contaminated a significant chunk of the web with like buttons and other stalking scripts and when the majority of the world is using it as its preferred communication platform, meaning opting out is inconvenient.

It's not opt-in because opting out is inconvenient?

"Do not use the Internet. Do not use phones. Do not use bank accounts. Do not travel by plane. Do not enter public spaces. Do not show your face.

Otherwise you accept our Terms of Service.

Thank you for trusting us."

QuantumRoar (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12958035)

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#147

Post by qxnqd » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 10:59 AM UTC

GeneralMaximus wrote: post #138

qxnqd wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook has a negative effect on society according to whom? How does a tool that allows you to connect to other people have a "negative effect on society"?

People get lynched and killed every day in my country (India) because of hate-speech on Facebook, not to mention all the fake news being spread via WhatsApp. If Facebook were to disappear tomorrow, it would be a net positive for the world.

Maybe it should disappear only from uncivilised countries, then?

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#148

Post by Cougher » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 11:04 AM UTC

Commenting about some of the comments . . .

Yes, ads are what keeps facebook and other websites running, but there's a blurred line that crosses from offering content for users to offering users as product. To attract readers, they provide content that has value. Then they do everything in their power to distract you from what you came for. When the distraction is too overpowering and irritating many people will complain and leave. It doesn't necessarily mean that we don't understand the money model; it's that we obviously are not going on the internet to see ads that take primacy over our online experience.

The line may be blurred, but facebook users are not facebook's customers; they are the product. Facebook offers this product to the businesses that pay for access. Inasmuch as facebook focuses on an engaging user experience, it's only to ensure that they maintain their product so businesses keep buying it. It's interesting how this product maintenance has evolved: like news or reality shows or contest shows, the aim is to introduce tension, and in the case of news topics, anger, which oddly keeps people coming back for more. The aim of providing an engaging user experience has morphed into providing an addictive user experience. And like most addictions, what started out as an enjoyable pleasure transforms into something that controls and destroys us to varying degrees.

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#149

Post by JakeAl » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 11:04 AM UTC

thatswrong0 wrote: post #25

iamkroot wrote: post #14

I continue to be surprised at how few people have heard of fbpurity[1], a fantastic browser extension that blocks all Facebook ads and lets you filter out specific types of content (links, memories, etc.). It's dramatically improved my Facebook experience; I now see exactly the type of content that I want to see (updates on friend's lives) and nothing more. [1] https://www.fbpurity.com/

I mean one look at the website kind of tells you why. The extension could be a lot less intrusive as well - just compare it to uBlock Origin for example. There doesn't need to be an onboarding message. I don't need to see "F.B. Purity hid:" prominently in the middle of my feed - just put that at the bottom right of the screen in gray text or in the extension. Etc. I'm probably going to uninstall it because it makes F…

It doesn't do that for me. Must be your settings.

Re: How Facebook Avoids Ad Blockers

#150

Post by JulianMorrison » Tue, Dec 03, 2019, 11:06 AM UTC

1propionyl wrote: post #53

I'm surprised I haven't seen a single comment say what ought to be the obvious: the easiest way to never see Facebook ads is to just not use Facebook. I should hope I'm preaching to the choir, I'm sure, but... quitting really isn't as hard as you tell yourself it is. It's not as essential as you think it is.

Things I pragmatically need Facebook (including Messenger) for:

- My martial arts classes post updates there

- So does the community garden I help out at

- Keeping up with family news, and directly talking to family

- Keeping up with what's happening to my friends in the USA or other far flung places

- Access to topical news that matches my political beliefs rather than being heavily centrist-biased and ignoring all the important stuff

- Monitoring political campaigns and issue campaigns

And honestly, good luck finding all that anywhere else.