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Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

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Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#361

Post by hilbert42 »

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #114
hilbert42 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I don't have the time or energy to block JavaScript and/or manually inspect each domain's requests to figure out if they use server-side tracking or not." By default, I don't run JavaScript. I don't see blocking JS as a problem - in fact, it's a blessing as the web is blinding fast without it - and also most of the ads just simply disappear if JS is not running. On occasions when I need JS (only about 3-5% of sites)…

There's another, indirect benefit to blocking JavaScript. Over time I have noticed a strong correlation between sites which don't work right without JS and low-quality content which I regret having spent time reading. Most of the time I encounter one of these sites I now just close the tab and move on with a clear conscience.

"Over time I have noticed a strong correlation between sites which don't work right without JS and low-quality content...."

Absolutely true, I can't agree with you more. I've reached the stage where if I land on a site and its main content is blocked if JavaScript is disabled then my conditioned reflex kicks in and I'm off the site within milliseconds.

Rarely is this a problem with sites that I frequent (and I too don't have time to waste reading low quality content).

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#362

Post by dtech »

chickenimprint wrote: post #291
ornornor wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> privacy rights given to us by law (eg in the EU) > As a EU citizen, i hope that our ineffectual administration at least tries to fight this somehow. Of course, there is little hope. GDPR is thanks to the EU and I wouldn’t say it has no effect. It seems like you’re contradicting yourself with these two paragraphs.

Is it safe to assume you've never had to deal with those downright malevolent dark patterns and button labyrinths, designed to make it extremely unlikely for anyone in the general population to actually reject tracking?

So what do you propose: "People are working around it so we should just give up"? I don't think it's time to admit defeat like that.

This can change, but enforcement and courts by nature are slow. With EU courts striking down asymptotic consent banners as illegal, sites are spooked, and you now see sites adding a "reject all" button next to the "accept all". I still have hope we get there.

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#363

Post by d--b »

Did anyone actually look into the details?

It's likely that we can still block this. My thought is: either the link between the frontend and the proxy is completely up to the developer, which means that developers can write whatever they want between the proxy and google. Possibly opening the doors to the proxy sending fake data to google - which I assume Google wants to avoid. Or the data that is being transmitted is encrypted somehow in the browser so that the proxy can't fiddle with it.

A smart browser extension could be able to figure out that some encrypted data is being transmitted, no?

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#364

Post by TZVdosOWs3kZHus »

runarberg wrote: post #322
sdoering wrote: post #244

Disclaimer: I am a data analyst. I consult companies in regards to ethical data collection. But I also know of black sheep. I don't have a problem with websites measuring what I view, click, add to cart or buy. I want them to be able to see what doesn't work in terms of user experience. And if they do marketing I even want them to be able to see from which source of traffic (aka marketing effort) how many conversions…

How effective is tracking in increasing user experience over less invasive techniques, e.g. like asking users?

This! The most valuable information is collected via classic communication! We include basic opt-in tracking (selectable in our installer) to get information about basic usage untangled to certain users. While this is just a statistical overview, it shows to us which parts of our software get used only for the customers who activated this kind of tracking.

The most valuable information we get is through our forum which is open to everyone regardless of whether tracking is activated or not.

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#365

Post by noduerme »

Ok. MotherFuckers be pirates. Does this affect me?

I have a dozen or so websites for clients running the normal google analytics script on those pages. This article is hard for me to parse, but, it just sounds like the idea of keeping some session alive and serving it off the same backend (if the same backend is calling google...?)

I'm probably not understanding what's going on here or how it would affect independent web devs or privacy towards users of our sites (even if we use analytics). Someone explain how this leaks my users info if I don't integrate with any google apis on the back...(?)

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#366

Post by nickreese »

This sort of thing has been hand rolled for at least 10 years in the affiliate space for super accurate tracking/commission attribution.

This has always been the endgame. It is also common to name the reverse proxy file things like jquery.js which no sane adblocker would block.

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#367

Post by ignoramous »

ghoomketu wrote: post #23

Pretty sure a big ban hammer is coming for Google with all such shenanigans, especially in trigger happy places like Europe and India who don't like their citizens tracked and are happy to create legislative bans. So you may win the cat and mouse adblock game but what are you gonna do when countries start making it illegal to use GA? (1) (1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2022/02/10/frenc... ?

> India who don't like their citizens tracked...

Pretty sure the Indian govt bullied everyone into getting an Aadhar. The quintessential tracking device.

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#368

Post by raspberry1337 »

PhantomGremlin wrote: post #338
zwaps wrote: post #228

Crazy how evil Google is. Just wow. Since this runs entirely on the domain of the website, it can easily ignore your privacy rights, with Google more or less washing their hands clean of it. Indeed, if we take blocking trackers as expression of consent, the only possible reason this exists at all is to illegally circumvent privacy preferences. In other words, if you work for Google, you are literally working for a cr…

Crazy how evil Google is. Just wow. Yeah, but there are a lot of employees there who check their bank accounts twice a month and say: "Just wow". Venial evil is easily bought. Edit: As a EU citizen I really hate to even say this, but "Crazy Vlad" nearby is what true evil is about.

>I really hate to even say this, but "Crazy Vlad" nearby is what true evil is about.

I would say that systematic evil, evil that is a consequence of technology or reality, will always surpass individual evil. It's like comparing the horrors of slavery as an instituted system compared to one really evil, sadistic slave-owner. Or how the native Americas we're to the 90% killed by viruses, rather than the evil of greedy conquerors. Perhaps you could argue that Putin is a manifestation of an evil system as well, but I'd think that if he was replaced by a good person tomorrow, the world would be a radically better place.

Google is clearly working hard, as an powerful institution, to perpetuate the system.

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#369

Post by noduerme »

gigel82 wrote: post #25

God damn... this is it, this is the end-game. There's no way to fight this unless you customize and maintain blocking scripts for each individual website. Yes, websites could always have done this, but the REST (CDN-bypassing) requests' cost and the manual maintenance for the telemetry endpoints and storage was an impediment that Google just gives them a drop-in solution for :( I think Google is happy to eat some of…

>> God damn... this is it, this is the end-game

I don't understand. I tried to read the article but it doesn't make sense to me. What is the end-game? Can you explain? Not everyone uses google analytics, and even if we do it would only be on the front pages... (hooking into any API has always had the potential to expose session data if you pass it, so what's new here??)

Re: Google Tag Manager, the new anti-adblock weapon (2020)

#370

Post by eps »

npteljes wrote: post #334
zwaps wrote: post #228

Crazy how evil Google is. Just wow. Since this runs entirely on the domain of the website, it can easily ignore your privacy rights, with Google more or less washing their hands clean of it. Indeed, if we take blocking trackers as expression of consent, the only possible reason this exists at all is to illegally circumvent privacy preferences. In other words, if you work for Google, you are literally working for a cr…

How is this crazy? Server administrators could have done, and have done anything on their side of the code. Nothing changed on this front since the invention of the HTTP request.

What's crazy is how openly anti-individual Google is.

They explicitly and aggressively facilitate practices that virtually every single person is against.

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