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Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out

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Re: Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out

#21

Post by stackskipton »

superkuh wrote: post #14
phn wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is, even with all the browser protections, you still create an account anywhere or buy something an input your name/email address/shipping address, your "hashed data" immediately gets sent to meta/google as a conversion with "this guy bought a cat toy", and you start getting ads for cat related stuff everywhere. They don't even need to "track" you properly for this stuff to work and it seems there's no way…

I don't experience that though I have friends who use smartphones who describe it. So I think a lot of it is via javascript. I doubt every retailer, or even a significant fraction, has their backend sending that type of data to $megacorp. But maybe I'm just lucky or shop weird places or it's because I use a new email address @superkuh.com for every account sign up. Or maybe I'm just not seeing the targeted ads for my…

If those companies are using big SaaS companies for eCommerce and have not going "Don't Track" part of their admin panel to turn off tracking, a lot of those SaaS companies will just sell off the data.

So sure, cat toy small time retailer on Etsy won't but credit card processor or shipper might.

Re: Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out

#23

Post by phn »

superkuh wrote: post #14
phn wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is, even with all the browser protections, you still create an account anywhere or buy something an input your name/email address/shipping address, your "hashed data" immediately gets sent to meta/google as a conversion with "this guy bought a cat toy", and you start getting ads for cat related stuff everywhere. They don't even need to "track" you properly for this stuff to work and it seems there's no way…

I don't experience that though I have friends who use smartphones who describe it. So I think a lot of it is via javascript. I doubt every retailer, or even a significant fraction, has their backend sending that type of data to $megacorp. But maybe I'm just lucky or shop weird places or it's because I use a new email address @superkuh.com for every account sign up. Or maybe I'm just not seeing the targeted ads for my…

I think part of the issue is that these retailers are also customers of meta/google on the side of purchasing ads, and as a merchant you're highly encouraged to send as much data on your events as you can, or your conversion tracking can be "less accurate"and your campaigns are less efficient.

So it's less about "we're sending the data to $megacorp" and more about "I want the most bang for buck on my own campaigns" when the decision is made.

Using a different email certainly helps, though!

EDIT: highly encouraged by meta et. al! Whether this is a legitimate request to improve results or pure self-interest on the part of meta I don't know!

Re: Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out

#24

Post by tlibert »

pixel_popping wrote: post #3

Is there still anyone competent that "doubt" so? As long as data transit through their infrastructure, in security, we must always assume that it's recorded (and later-on, eventually used), it has nothing to do with "settings".

If a user has an "opt-out" button or signal it should be wired up to a system that functions as such. This is just a software engineering, you could vibe-code a fix in ten minutes.

Re: Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out

#26

Post by tlibert »

superkuh wrote: post #4

Luckily almost all modern corporate tracking is done through javascript execution + cookies. The days of parsing actual webserver logs are over for the most part. After all, it's only the browsers that execute javascript code and provide profitable personal information about the human behind the browser that matter. People with JS off are not providing sellable information and therefore classified and treated as if t…

We look at 2 examples of third-party HTTP cookies and 1 example of javascript. It's both, you have to defend on a complex terrain.

Re: Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out

#27

Post by zbentley »

tlibert wrote: post #15
dec0dedab0de wrote: post #7

I mean duh, but also this seems like a fairly weak gotcha. Cookies != Tracking, they can track you just fine without cookies, and they can use cookies without tracking you.

The report is specifically ads cookies and includes links to primary source disclosures on the websites of the companies mentioned. We did not count things like DDoS cookies, login tokens, and the like. We operate with unparalleled precision in our domain.

I'm curious why this was downvoted--I'm not complaining or trying to go against HN guidelines; I'm genuinely unclear as to why the first-party source for the article clarifying the question in GP was marked dead. Bad actors? Misinterpretation? Other?

Re: Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out

#30

Post by hmokiguess »

tlibert wrote: post #9

Hi, I'm Dr Tim Libert, founder of webXray who did this audit. Happy to answer questions from YC'ers. [Note, stepping away for some mental health exercise, stressful day!] I also want to push back on Google telling the press our California Privacy Audit is "is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how [Google's] products work". I'm the former head of Cookie Compliance at Google and I have the federal court filing…

Apologies in advance an excuse my ignorance as I am going on a hunch here and don't have much rather than perhaps frustration driving my comment, but it feels like this isn't the first and nor will be the last we find stuff like this.

I can't help but think they will pay the fines and go on continuing doing this, which makes it seem like it just evolved into a scheme where the government now takes their cut.

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