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For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

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Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#401

Post by rascul »

defulmere wrote: post #366
seanhunter wrote: post #301

If you want to disable this, instructions are given here[1] but 1) Hamburger menu -> Settings -> Privacy & Security 2) scroll down to the new section entitled "Web Site Advertising Preferences". 3) Make sure the box marked "Allow web sites to perform privacy-preserving ad measurement" is not checked. [1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/privacy-preserving-attr...

Thanks for providing these instructions. My usual way to get to some setting in Firefox is to use the search box but it seems that Mozilla is actively hiding this one by excluding it from search, ie if you type "advertising" into the settings search box then there are no results.

It seems the search matches on the text of the option, not the section text. The text of the option is "Allow websites to perform privacy-preserving ad measurement" and the search for me brings up the option (and of course anything else that matches) when I search for any of that.

Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#402

Post by alex_duf »

qwertox wrote: post #96
alex_duf wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By this logic wikipedia wouldn't be able to load any image

They could offer a deal to Toyota and tell them they're offering image-only ad space on all car-related pages. For example images with deals. Toyota would know from the referrer that the click came from Wikipedia. All the other images are hosted by Wikipedia themselves and are not ad-related, so I don't see where's the issue here.

I'm just saying that the domain that hosts the page and the domain that hosts the image are often not the same. Wikipedia hosts the articles, wikimedia hosts the images.

If a browser wants to be strict about what it loads, most of the web would appear broken. Maybe google could have the weight to force such change, but no way could mozilla impose such a strict rule.

Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#403

Post by jasonlotito »

uyzstvqs wrote: post #134

What's dumb is that Firefox is not the freedom browser people think it is. Mozilla is a crappy organization. Firefox has extension signing, it's as restrictive as installing apps on iOS where only approved apps can be installed, without a setting to easily disable it. Mozilla can also remotely install extensions by default (opt out) called "experiments" or something. Their anti-tracking is purposefully weak because o…

> And Mozilla leadership is associated with radical left politics

> Maybe check out ... LibreWolf

GNU says hi.

Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#404

Post by MrAlex94 »

MiddleEndian wrote: post #342
MrAlex94 wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But we're not talking about Firefox's update mechanism here, we're talking about Librewolf's. They are already the custodians of custom settings and making the choice for you, so it doesn't seem like a valid comparison here. I would also say a web browser should be the one piece of software constantly updated due to the sheer volume of security patches issued every few weeks.

>But we're not talking about Firefox's update mechanism here, we're talking about Librewolf's. Doesn't matter. I don't inherently trust any organization. >They are already the custodians of custom settings and making the choice for you, so it doesn't seem like a valid comparison here. I can make the choice to install software. I should be able to make the choice to upgrade it as I choose as well. If I buy a chair fro…

> I can make the choice to install software. I should be able to make the choice to upgrade it as I choose as well.

I think that's completely valid.

I was just assuming (maybe incorrectly?) we're talking about what should be happening in general (so what the experience for the layman should be). Now whether that applies to Librewolf is another story, but arguably it becoming fairly known, it should.

Side-note: In Waterfox, I've re-added the ability to disable auto-updating completely. I completely understand the want to manually update software.

Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#405

Post by noisy_boy »

defulmere wrote: post #366
seanhunter wrote: post #301

If you want to disable this, instructions are given here[1] but 1) Hamburger menu -> Settings -> Privacy & Security 2) scroll down to the new section entitled "Web Site Advertising Preferences". 3) Make sure the box marked "Allow web sites to perform privacy-preserving ad measurement" is not checked. [1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/privacy-preserving-attr...

Thanks for providing these instructions. My usual way to get to some setting in Firefox is to use the search box but it seems that Mozilla is actively hiding this one by excluding it from search, ie if you type "advertising" into the settings search box then there are no results.

That is because "Allow web sites to perform privacy-preserving ad measurement" doesn't have the word "advertising" in it. Granted the current phrasing a bit awkward and may have a certain degree of deliberateness behind it.

Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#406

Post by bondarchuk »

berkes wrote: post #354
ninjin wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a (lazy) line of argument related to GDPR, cookie banners, etc. that goes something like this: " That legislation failed, thus any legislation will fail." It was a while since I did proof by induction, but I do believe there is some step missing here. Personally, I am open to an argument that any legislation is folly. But we need to raise the discourse rather than just bash legislative failures (or merely pa…

I wasn't trying to make the argument that since some parts of the GDPR didn't work out as intentended/hoped, other legislation will fail too. My point was specifically that the GDPR put a law in place that when you send private data from users to third parties, you must ask the user for permission and allow that user to decline this and then not send that users' private data to these third parties. The idea and inten…

Ok, sure, but that's exactly what I said: simply outlawing advertising leaves a lot less wiggle room than allowing it but with some minor semblance of consent.

Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#408

Post by rascul »

ninjin wrote: post #234
latexr wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How should browser development be funded? One of the most common Mozilla complaints I see on the web is that you cannot fund Firefox development directly. People want to give money to it, but cannot. Which makes sense, I guess. Anecdotally, Mozilla is by far the company I know with the most vocal users that get completely ignored.

Come now, let us be realistic, no one and nothing funds browser development other than advertisement: https://ladybird.org/#sponsors

None of those appear to be advertising companies.

Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#409

Post by a4isms »

latexr wrote: post #87
eco wrote: post #17

The CTO of Mozilla just posted on /r/firefox about this: https://old.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/1e43w7v/a_word_abo...

> It’s clear in retrospect that we should have communicated more on this one What isn’t clear, in retrospect or otherwise, is why companies/apps/services need to keep learning this lesson. The user outcry was utterly predictable from even before the first web article was out. The fact that no one with decision power at Mozilla saw it coming is worrying: either they have zero understanding of people’s concerns for pri…

> It’s clear in retrospect that we should have communicated more on this one

Oh maaaaaaaaaaaan do I despise hearing variations on this "non-pology."

It's never "Wow, we fucked up by doing something harmful to you." It's always, "My bad, I failed to explain exactly why you're wrong to think this is harming you. I take total responsibility for not explaining why this is actually good for you. I'll try again."

Re: For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by default

#410

Post by [deleted] »

irq-1 wrote: post #379

> Our hope is that if we develop a good attribution solution, it will offer a real alternative to more objectionable practices like tracking. There is no negotiating with the advertising industry. No system will stop them from acting unethically to gain an edge. -- My idea for such a system: random GUID added to each ad. Browser plugin collects GUIDs. Client protects itself with random GUIDs removed and new random GU…

[deleted]
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