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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

#91

Post by nickburns »

tlibert wrote: post #69
throwawayq3423 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you're being downvoted. Thank you for what you do.

Appreciated, means a lot. I'm not surprised at the downvotes, but someday we all have to look in the mirror and decide if we like what we see, but it's easier to downvote in the meantime.

If I may... I suspect quite a few of your comments have been downvoted for being a little—frenetic. In many ways, your work here (together with your previous work experience) speaks for itself, at least to those of us who get it.

Unfortunately, awareness-raising and solution-building are probably two entirely separate stages for this issue.

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

#92

Post by pixel_popping »

tlibert wrote: post #24
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.

Opt-out still goes through their servers, which means unsecure. We use encryption everywhere to not trust the middle layer, if it transits somewhere in cleartext, then it's logged and eventually used later-on.

I genuinely believe that people are insane to think otherwise, proof is that there has been millions(billions?) issued in fines for non-respect of this specific issue, why are people still having "hope"? It doesn't make sense, it's THERE, it's in THEIR DB.

The same goes for LLMs of course, every prompts is recorded and will be used, be sure of that.

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

#93

Post by pixel_popping »

Zetaphor wrote: post #78
tlibert wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You are assuming this was simply a development oversight and not part of a larger systemic issue

Exactly, this is wanted, why would Google not exploit your data "opted-out"? That makes no-sense from their business point of view.

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

#95

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #87

Meta's WhatsApp app under certain network conditions will try to bypass Android VPN settings using Google Public DNS servers even when (a) the OS settings "Always-on VPN" and "Block connections without VPN" are enabled, (b) port 53 is forwarded to a local address,^1 (c) DNS settings under "Network details" for the router point to local addresses only and (d) "Mobile data" is disabled for the SIM and the phone has no…

As for the networking conditions required to reproduce this issue, bringing down the network interface on the gateway will trigger it for me

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

#96

Post by _DeadFred_ »

rolph wrote: post #5

they have no fear of the current financial incentives, there has to a punitive quantity involved, and the mentality of any regulators has to catch up with present day. fines that amount to a daily expenditure account, do nothing. fines have to have potential to do real damage to, or destroy noncompliants, if there is going to be any deterrent. contempt, is obvious, the chance of jail should exist in actuality, rather…

Instead of fines someone here recommended partial public ownership. This also dilutes share value so punishes the people who can effect change, stock holders. It would also give the government a better ability to hold companies accountable as the government is now on the inside and can make partial owner type demands, request internal numbers. It could also add significant other burdens. An egregious company would become publicly owned over time allowing a complete overhaul.

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

#97

Post by [deleted] »

phn wrote: post #8
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…

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…

[deleted]

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

#98

Post by [deleted] »

tlibert wrote: post #68
warkdarrior wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you agree that you have no way to confirm whether those websites honor or do not honor the do-not-sell-my-info choice. You are simply checking whether they set cookies or not, without knowing whether the data is sold or not on the backend.

We run scientific audits that provide evidence of specific data transfers under specific network conditions.

[deleted]

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

#99

Post by tlibert »

nickburns wrote: post #91
tlibert wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Appreciated, means a lot. I'm not surprised at the downvotes, but someday we all have to look in the mirror and decide if we like what we see, but it's easier to downvote in the meantime.

If I may... I suspect quite a few of your comments have been downvoted for being a little—frenetic. In many ways, your work here (together with your previous work experience) speaks for itself, at least to those of us who get it. Unfortunately, awareness-raising and solution-building are probably two entirely separate stages for this issue.

I’m used to a quick fire response format for legal questioning. My words are carefully chosen, but I do reply quickly because I played every question in my head in advance.

The dig on downvotes however was intentionally cheeky. I’m well respected by many engineers who worked with me, no hard feelings, just a little teasing.

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

#100

Post by dec0dedab0de »

rockskon wrote: post #10
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.

Cooking != Tracking? That's historically been a very prominent purpose of cookies. Sure it's not exclusively tracking, but it's nonsense to make the assertion that "Cookies != Tracking"

Sure it's not exclusively tracking, but it's nonsense to make the assertion that "Cookies != Tracking"

They're not primarily for tracking either.

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