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FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

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Re: FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

#61

Post by viraptor »

saagarjha wrote: post #58
elliekelly wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would imagine women who are buying menstrual products are very likely either about to begin their period or are in the midst of it. Also, things like midol are probably strong indicators.

Hmm, I'm not sure–all the women I know buy massive packs from Costco because it's something that they might as well buy in bulk and save money on. I didn't think of medicine, though–you're probably right about that.

Painkillers and chocolate purchases should be slightly correlated.

Re: FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

#63

Post by judge2020 »

BelenusMordred wrote: post #59
Darkphibre wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Open inquiry: Anything out there recommended for Android or PC?

Anything on f-droid is going to be good. Last time this story came up I saw a comment saying there was two prominent apps there. It's scary how many people don't immediately go for the open source alternative before checking the Google play store. Most people publishing on f-droid use their real name, have verifiable open source activity, have a professional reputation to maintain and have their apps open to world to…

> Anything on f-droid is going to be good

I fail to see how an app being on F-Droid inherently mean it’s going to be privacy-friendly.

Re: FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

#64

Post by BelenusMordred »

judge2020 wrote: post #63
BelenusMordred wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anything on f-droid is going to be good. Last time this story came up I saw a comment saying there was two prominent apps there. It's scary how many people don't immediately go for the open source alternative before checking the Google play store. Most people publishing on f-droid use their real name, have verifiable open source activity, have a professional reputation to maintain and have their apps open to world to…

> Anything on f-droid is going to be good I fail to see how an app being on F-Droid inherently mean it’s going to be privacy-friendly.

Android SDKs themselves can be leaky and are incredibly widespread, this is a clear flaw in mobile appsec and not that well known.

That said basically everything benefits from the sun shining in on it. F-Droid alerts you to anything dodgy under the hood, has reproducible builds[1] and in general has none of the complete shitshow that is playstore.

In my 5EYES country Google's playstore has to secretly insert malware if the government wants it and there's no way for the end user to tell if that's the case.

Tell me a common use for a mobile app and we can compare what is available on both play store and f-droid.

[1] https://f-droid.org/en/docs/Reproducible_Builds/

Re: FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

#65

Post by judge2020 »

BelenusMordred wrote: post #64
judge2020 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Anything on f-droid is going to be good I fail to see how an app being on F-Droid inherently mean it’s going to be privacy-friendly.

Android SDKs themselves can be leaky and are incredibly widespread, this is a clear flaw in mobile appsec and not that well known. That said basically everything benefits from the sun shining in on it. F-Droid alerts you to anything dodgy under the hood, has reproducible builds[1] and in general has none of the complete shitshow that is playstore. In my 5EYES country Google's playstore has to secretly insert malware…

I’m more pointing out how it’s not a silver bullet (and how a silver bullet for app privacy doesn’t exist); nothing is perfect and f-droid is no exception, even if it is better than Play Store. Nothing is stopping an app from uploading user data for a good purpose then selling it to third parties.

Re: FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

#66

Post by BelenusMordred »

judge2020 wrote: post #65
BelenusMordred wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android SDKs themselves can be leaky and are incredibly widespread, this is a clear flaw in mobile appsec and not that well known. That said basically everything benefits from the sun shining in on it. F-Droid alerts you to anything dodgy under the hood, has reproducible builds[1] and in general has none of the complete shitshow that is playstore. In my 5EYES country Google's playstore has to secretly insert malware…

I’m more pointing out how it’s not a silver bullet (and how a silver bullet for app privacy doesn’t exist); nothing is perfect and f-droid is no exception, even if it is better than Play Store. Nothing is stopping an app from uploading user data for a good purpose then selling it to third parties.

> nothing is perfect and f-droid is no exception, even if it is better than Play Store

Not wearing a seatbelt isn't perfect, and yet we all still do it :)

Re: FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

#67

Post by josefx »

manicdee wrote: post #35
A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did not hear about that one. It does sound interesting. Is there some sort of of study discussing it you could link?

For me the canonical example is this story in Forbes about a man who complained to Target about baby-product advertising directed at his teenage daughter. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-targ...

To spoil an important point of the article: They had a personalized Target account and the daughter had been openly buying pregnancy related products for weeks, her father was the only one not aware of it.

Re: FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

#68

Post by taneq »

klyrs wrote: post #50
taneq wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that you can advertise these things at all is kind of shocking to me. I’d expect psychiatric drugs to be prescribed by a psychiatrist on their medicinal merits rather than purchased on an advertising-driven whim.

Wait til you learn how they advertise drugs to your psychiatrist! https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/01/30/stripper-...

Oh, I mean there's all manner of conflict-of-interest, perverse-incentive type stuff going on there - you kind of expect that (sadly) in big business - but it's another whole level of dodginess marketing prescription pharmaceuticals directly to laypeople. It seems only one step above roaming the streets giving out "free samples" wrapped in twists of aluminium foil.

Re: FTC Settlement with Fertility-Tracking App for Facebook/Google SDK Data Sharing

#70

Post by TeMPOraL »

joshspankit wrote: post #13
ascagnel_ wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of value in knowing about a pregnancy -- in the months leading up to a baby, you're spending a ton of money getting ready for the baby or on constantly buying new clothes for mom as the pregnancy moves along. Once the baby comes, you have a good chance for capturing a repeat customer on a bunch of baby-related items (diapers, wipes, etc).

Also, if you’ve ever known someone who’s a new parent; the sheer volume of “welcome packages”, pamphlets, flyers, coupons, and free samples is staggering and clearly indicates (to me at least) that the customer value is uncommonly high.

Oh god, that. When my wife gave birth, she received a "care package" that was just a box with few small items (water and some cosmetics testers, IIRC) and half a kilogram of flyers. I honestly was floored, and my deep hatred for the advertising industry had reached a new level. And then I noticed that the child health book they gave us - an official medical document that we'll be carrying for the next two decades - had multiple full-page ads in it. Because of course it did.

Did I said it already that advertising is a cancer on modern society?

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