"End to end encrypted" on proprietary code base from META of all companies, with no ability to publicly audit?
I am to this day baffled by gullibility of people believing that WhatsApp is E2E encrypted.
Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
161–170 of 473 posts
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#162The scarier thing to me is when ads match _conversations_ I have with my wife. I told her about this story this morning, and she reminded me about a conversation about stem cell research we had yesterday. I said something along the lines of 'I hope there is a breakthrough soon on regenerating the Isle of Langerhans in the pancreas to treat diabetes.' Sure enough, she noticed an article in her Google News feed later t…
As creepy as this is whenever it happens, I remain convinced it’s observation bias. Because of how often it doesn’t happen. Quoth Richard Feynman: > “You know, the most amazing thing happened to me tonight... I saw a car with the license plate ARW 357. Can you imagine? Of all the millions of license plates in the state, what was the chance that I would see that particular one tonight? Amazing!” You were gonna see ads…
Google probably gets higher CTR by showing you many different ads that are oddly specific rather than ads that are more general. Once in a while, they will get one right, and it will feel creepy.
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#163Well, even end-to-end encrypted in WhatsApp doesn't eliminate metadata that is being collected about you. Even then, unless you are using a keyboard that is specifically not gathering information, the keyboard you type your message with might be sending keywords/metadata forward. Combine that with the rest of the information being collected about you and whatever you speak about, isn't so secret anymore.
It's very easy to blame an application, but the problem with the modern ecosystem is that it's all very interconnected. Signal makes a point of having a setting that sends a request to the keyboard to disable personalized learning, but even that is a request. There isn't a guarantee that it complies.
Companies that deal with data will not use a single source of information, but a huge variety of sources and your smartphone is like a huge vacuum that is pulling in everything it can gather from you through any means possible.
Lastly, it could also be observation bias as others have mentioned, but to truly be able to regain control, you would need to take a variety of steps to make this change.
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#164Fuel the monopoly, suffer the monopoly.
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#165I think you partly may just be biased by happening to notice ads more if they fit the topic you sent to your wife or being lenient in deciding if ads meet the categorization. And if you dwell on an ad because it seems to match, you may get more similar ads. Here is how I think you could design a more robust (but less fun) experiment: - Come up with a bunch of topics, write them down on slips of paper, put the paper i…
This is facebook. They've been caught recording people and selling that for advertising, they deny it because technically your audio is transcripted not recorded and they can send only some keywords back so whole conversations aren't sent back to them.
Source?
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
No keyboard app. We use the regular Android Keyboard provided by Google.
But doesn’t Gboard send your typing data to Google?
Yes, it does. Also, DNS blocking will not work with many GApps phoning home.
Even Swiftkey keyboard (bought by microsoft) sends back telemetry to MSFT. Try a keyboard from Fdroid, but it may not be as feature rich.
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#167consider the following scenario type a message -> msg encrypted -> msg sent -> msg received -> msg decrypted -> msg viewed in app Then consider the following: type a message -> msg encrypted -> msg sent -> msg received -> msg decrypted -> app scans content and sends classification to ads server -> msg viewed in app Both are end-to-end encrypted.
This is likely the explanation. I put signal on phone I initially used exclusively for work stuff and the other day and chatted about some car tires. Next thing we know, tire ads in mobile browser. Main PC ( which has linked signal installed ) got generic ads when I looked online suggesting one of the apps is grabbing info from keyboard.
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#168Pcaps or it didn't happen.
People have been claiming this for years, and yet we have never seen actual evidence. I completely understand being creeped out by the surveillance shops, and I've seen coincidences that weirded me out.
But if this is going on, then there is network traffic about it. And busting FB with real proof of audio surveillance would be a massive feather in some researcher's cap.
I don't buy it.
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#169Could it just be confirmation bias? Or could it be that the correlation is the other way around: You see something online, decide to pick that as your topic with your partner (unconciously) and the ads show up because of the initial location you have seen the topic.
While that's possible, the more plausible explanation is Meta reading your messages imo.
Is it? I feel like this would be easily reproducible and would bite them in the ass big time.
Re: Ask HN: Ads triggered by WhatsApp “end to end encrypted” messages?
#170WhatsApp embeds google analytics into your client, which means that it does tag all your messages while you are viewing them (and also tags them with each open/close of the conversation).
If you don't know this already, use App Warden to remove spyware handlers on Android and use RethinkDNS to block their ad domains.