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Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

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Re: Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

#11

Post by tech-no-logical »

fchollet wrote: post #9
tech-no-logical wrote: post #4

and to all site owners moaning about people using adblock : this is why we can't have nice things. as long as policies like this exist, I'll block anything remotely able to track me.

It is very difficult to get somebody to understand something when they have some amount of income depending on not understanding it. Of course site owners are always going to stand behind the ad-supported model of the web, even though it creates all the wrong incentives for content creators and massively degrades the user experience. And generally, degrades the very value proposition of the web. (disclaimer: I run a…

true. but as long as site owners use ad-providers that track me, I don't really care. I will gladly reconsider my blocking ads if and when ad-providers are used that don't do this.

maybe site-owners should pressure ad-providers to provide a track-free service ?

Re: Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

#13

Post by mkesper »

Bassetts wrote: post #10

I recently switched from Adblock Plus to HTTP Switchboard[0]. I find it gives you much better control over what gets blocked, and it properly blocks what you have told it to, not just hide them. I have it set up in quite a restrictive way so by default a site level scope is created and only image/css is allowed. It means I have to take anywhere from a couple of seconds to a few minutes to enable things a site needs t…

Not (yet) available for Firefox, sorrily.

Re: Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

#14

Post by r0h1n »

AdBlock Plus once blocked Google ads, till Google decided to pay them [0] to "whitelist" their ads by default. The cynical part of me sees this as a precursor for AdBlock to sign a deal with Facebook and let their ads/tracking through too, for a price of course.

[0] http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/5/4496852/adblock-plus-eye-go...

Re: Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

#15

Post by qwerta »

I use web less and less. It just does not have that good experience, compared to dedicated devices and apps. Also it requires constant connection, way too much hassle while traveling.

For video I use dedicated apps with off-line caching. For email I have IMAP. I get news via RSS. Anything longer than 1 page, I save and read on Kindle latter (including HN discussions). I have off-line version of Wikipedia.

Re: Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

#16

Post by dspillett »

fchollet wrote: post #7
dspillett wrote: post #5

To minimise the tracking without plugins: always login to facebook and anything that has your personal details in a "private" session or a browser you don't normally use with flash turned off (or not installed in the first place). Not perfect, but good enough for me. Of course everyone in my other browser sessions is tracking me between sites, but it isn't linked to my social profiles and such. TBH I don't really car…

This is a very shallow way of "escaping"; your browsing activity is definitely being linked to your social media identities via your IP(s) and browser fingerprint. For instance Google does maintain such non-cookie-based user identities. I'd be highly surprised if Facebook didn't as well; your data is just too valuable to pass on such easy fixes.

Aye, my IP addresses at most locations are fixed.

The browser fingerprint isn't going to help them though.

Of course the only real solution (other than cutting yourself off completely) is for there to be a stable, secure, reliable, non-tracked, ad-free alternative that enough people use - and that isn't going to happen unless you have a spare high improbability generator handy.

Re: Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

#18

Post by mp3geek »

r0h1n wrote: post #14

AdBlock Plus once blocked Google ads, till Google decided to pay them [0] to "whitelist" their ads by default. The cynical part of me sees this as a precursor for AdBlock to sign a deal with Facebook and let their ads/tracking through too, for a price of course. [0] http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/5/4496852/adblock-plus-eye-go...

If you want to disable the "Allow some non-intrusive advertising", that option is available.

Re: Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

#19

Post by dspillett »

tech-no-logical wrote: post #11
fchollet wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is very difficult to get somebody to understand something when they have some amount of income depending on not understanding it. Of course site owners are always going to stand behind the ad-supported model of the web, even though it creates all the wrong incentives for content creators and massively degrades the user experience. And generally, degrades the very value proposition of the web. (disclaimer: I run a…

true. but as long as site owners use ad-providers that track me, I don't really care. I will gladly reconsider my blocking ads if and when ad-providers are used that don't do this. maybe site-owners should pressure ad-providers to provide a track-free service ?

The lower targeting potential reduces the value of the ad site as it is sold down the chain, so if the site owners are using the ads to fund themselves they are unlikely to as for this en-mass as it would reduce their income.

Of course you could argue the moral and inconvenience cases as sites make these judgements when choosing advert networks already but "a bit of tracking" does not have the same moral weight to most as "porn and gambling" or "the annoyance of pop-ups/unders and drive-by install attempts" when deciding where they are comfortable to take money from.

Re: Adblock Plus gives Facebook users a way to block its extended tracking efforts

#20

Post by surreal »

daemonk wrote: post #17

Someone should make a plugin that actively sends facebook false tracking information along with your own.

I seem to remember a schoolgirl developing a project to do exactly that, a few months ago on HN. Trying to dig it out now, unless anyone else can chime in?
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