"Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

Post by jgalt212 » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 7:49 PM UTC

frenchmajesty wrote: post #15

Very impressive but not surprising coming from Meta. They have an history of doing this kind of things. Back in the early 2010s, they found a way to spy on HTTPS traffic on the iOS App Store to monitor which apps were getting popular. That's what allowed them to know WhatsApp and Instagram were good acquisition targets. At this point, I think the race for Zuckerberg is, can Meta survive long enough for the next platf…

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 7:54 PM UTC

JimDabell wrote: post #31

Previous discussion: Covert web-to-app tracking via localhost on Android (341 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44169115

Post by SoftTalker » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 7:57 PM UTC

joshstrange wrote: post #46

geerlingguy wrote: post #11

Sounds like you're affected if you have either Facebook or Instagram app installed on an Android phone, you're signed into your account, and you don't have anything set up to block tracking pixels and the like (though that last part I'm not as sure of). Getting through VPNs and incognito mode are the most egregious parts of this offense, though. I think some people are under the impression that's a way to act like yo…

> I think some people are under the impression that's a way to act like you're in total privacy... but it's not. It should be for the average person. VPN and private browsing should be enough for what most people use it for. I don’t think it’s fair to expect people to think that the browser is secretly communicating with apps on their phone, tying all behavior to their identity.

Post by 7373737373 » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 7:58 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #114

ls-a wrote: post #81

What's funny is that the engineers who implemented this are probably one of us here on HN. I don't think Zuck implemented this himself

AND, whenever you suggest here that engineers should consider the morals or ethics of what they are being asked to work on, you often get lots of push back in the comments. "I just want to work on cool tech! It's my company's problem what they use it for!" and "Hey, I'm just a code monkey, don't blame me! If my manager tells me to build the Torment Nexus, I build the Torment Nexus!"

Post by ribosometronome » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 8:01 PM UTC

globalise83 wrote: post #124

This system was designed and implemented by engineers who committed code in a source control system with their name attached, and the changes were requested by product managers in tickets in the ticketing system with their name attached. Those engineers and product managers should be personally liable for an equivalent % of their annual salary as Facebook is liable for a % of its annual revenue.