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URL shorteners set ad tracking cookies

ylukem.com

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Re: URL shorteners set ad tracking cookies

#71

Post by daniellarusso »

samb1729 wrote: post #68
TimLeland wrote: post #51

This is really interesting. I suppose tiny url gets a kicked back from their ad network for this. I'm the creator of the URL shortener (T.LY) and a Link Unshortener tool. I spend most of my development time fighting bad actors. My goal is to have a legitimate competitor to bitly that people benefit from. We do not set any cookies on redirects but do use cookies for authentication for users. T.LY: https://t.ly/ Link U…

It is a shame that T.LY displays only the footer without JavaScript enabled instead of degrading gracefully. Surely a plain HTML form that POSTs should suffice? I'm not sure how much work it would require for you to support this, but it would help cement your place as a good web actor if you're so inclined!

Can you instead use the meta refresh tag?

Re: URL shorteners set ad tracking cookies

#72

Post by stanislavb »

TimLeland wrote: post #51

This is really interesting. I suppose tiny url gets a kicked back from their ad network for this. I'm the creator of the URL shortener (T.LY) and a Link Unshortener tool. I spend most of my development time fighting bad actors. My goal is to have a legitimate competitor to bitly that people benefit from. We do not set any cookies on redirects but do use cookies for authentication for users. T.LY: https://t.ly/ Link U…

Seems nice. I'm curious, how do you make money / stay in business? I couldn't find any paid options.

Re: URL shorteners set ad tracking cookies

#74

Post by jrochkind1 »

They could of course be sharing the click "back channel" with the ad network without any visible redirect at all, and still capturing just as much data. I guess it couldn't actually set a cookie with the viglink.com domain though.

Is that important enough to risk being "found out", or do they just not care that much about being found out, so went with the somewhat technically easier to implement but visible to end-user option?

Re: URL shorteners set ad tracking cookies

#75

Post by Jap2-0 »

miked85 wrote: post #64
Merman_Mike wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FYI that your site is blocked by this list: https://gitlab.com/The_Quantum_Alpha/the-quantum-ad-list HN post for that list here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25512273

That list is questionable at best. There are many claims the list author makes without any source code at all, though a lot of buzzwords. The reddit r/pihole moderator pulled the post: https://www.reddit.com/r/pihole/comments/kh5dit/the_quantum_... . The thread was more entertaining before the list author deleted every downvoted comment they made.

[0] is perhaps even more concerning - apparently it bears a striking resemblance to Steven Black's (slightly more reputable) list[1] [edit: plus a few hundred thousand other rules of questionable sourcing].

[0] https://gitlab.com/The_Quantum_Alpha/the-quantum-ad-list/-/i...

https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts/issues/1487

[1] https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

Re: URL shorteners set ad tracking cookies

#76

Post by recursive »

TylerE wrote: post #67
Hnrobert42 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just some thoughts: 1. Reach out to the list maintainer to see why your site was added. 2. Create a blocklist comprised of those ad lists. Don’t redirect to sites on the blocklist. 3. (Of dubious practical value) Create a Terms of Service that says users may not use your to link to advertisements.

> 3. (Of dubious practical value) Create a Terms of Service that says users may not use your to link to advertisements. That seems entirely unenforceable. Aren't ALL websites ultimately advertisements?

> Aren't ALL websites ultimately advertisements?

No. Some are just information, art, or what-have-you. Here's one I just found now.

https://aaron.axvigs.com/

Re: URL shorteners set ad tracking cookies

#78

Post by TylerE »

recursive wrote: post #76
TylerE wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 3. (Of dubious practical value) Create a Terms of Service that says users may not use your to link to advertisements. That seems entirely unenforceable. Aren't ALL websites ultimately advertisements?

> Aren't ALL websites ultimately advertisements? No. Some are just information, art, or what-have-you. Here's one I just found now. https://aaron.axvigs.com/

That could still be considered an advertisement of his existence and writing skills.

If the goal is purely informational, why is the author's name attached?

The site also advertises the CMS it runs on.

That's my point, by a reasonable standard, ANY site that exists is an advertisement for something or other, thus a rule saying "no linking to advertisements" is worse than useless.

Re: URL shorteners set ad tracking cookies

#79

Post by reilly3000 »

I honestly thought that was common knowledge. Like why else would you use a URL shortener, since Twitter started doing it on their own?

I can do more to help web users understand trackers... perhaps I will work on that this year.

I’ve worked in and around the space for too long to see outside of my bubble.

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