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TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

consumerreports.org

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Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#101

Post by lapcat »

lxchase wrote: post #80
lapcat wrote: post #4

Block the domain analytics.tiktok.com

If your goal is to limit tracking, this does help, however it won't stop any server to server (versus client browser to server) data pass through. Any events the advertiser/publisher deems important, they can first-party collect the relevant tracking data and pass it from their server to the ad server (i.e. TikTok, Google, MS, FB etc.)

Is this actual or just theoretical? I think most sites are doing the simplest thing. https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article?aid=9663

Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#102

Post by klabb3 »

dijit wrote: post #40
superkuh wrote: post #33

The TikTok pixel is not actually a pixel like in the old days. It is not a 1x1 transparent image loaded from their servers. It is executable javascript code. All you have to do to stop 99% of the corporate spying is disable unsafe remote code execution. It's hard to believe I have to say that after the many decades of people getting it drilled into their heads "Do not open random email attachments" but here we are in…

I really really wish that I could convince Web Developers that not every website needs to be a web app. I keep bringing up that I don't want JS to execute random code, even if it's sandboxed, it's mostly unnecessary, and I always get the same sort of replies. Everyone calls me out of touch, I'm downvoted to oblivion, everyone suggests that I'm a unique case and everyone wants JS, they say that they don't want fragmen…

Of all things that can be complained about, JS sandboxing is actually really hardened. I think the issue is the cross site wild west we have today. Cookies, requests etc go all over the place, when it should be isolated to same origin unless specific interactions are needed (and then they should probably be user facing and blockable).

I think the real answer to why this hasn't been toothfully patched yet is ads and the billions of dollars behind it. Not JS developers.

Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#103

Post by [deleted] »

lxchase wrote: post #80
lapcat wrote: post #4

Block the domain analytics.tiktok.com

If your goal is to limit tracking, this does help, however it won't stop any server to server (versus client browser to server) data pass through. Any events the advertiser/publisher deems important, they can first-party collect the relevant tracking data and pass it from their server to the ad server (i.e. TikTok, Google, MS, FB etc.)

[deleted]

Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#104

Post by lxchase »

lapcat wrote: post #101
lxchase wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your goal is to limit tracking, this does help, however it won't stop any server to server (versus client browser to server) data pass through. Any events the advertiser/publisher deems important, they can first-party collect the relevant tracking data and pass it from their server to the ad server (i.e. TikTok, Google, MS, FB etc.)

Is this actual or just theoretical? I think most sites are doing the simplest thing. https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article?aid=9663

Actual. Tiktok: https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article?aid=10003669 FB: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/conversio... Google: https://developers.google.com/tag-platform/tag-manager/serve...

You're right most are doing the simplest things as most marketers do not have tech experience to understand the advanced methods. As more people try to prevent Javascript, you'll start to see more and more companies adopt these methods.

Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#105

Post by bradleybuda »

superkuh wrote: post #33

The TikTok pixel is not actually a pixel like in the old days. It is not a 1x1 transparent image loaded from their servers. It is executable javascript code. All you have to do to stop 99% of the corporate spying is disable unsafe remote code execution. It's hard to believe I have to say that after the many decades of people getting it drilled into their heads "Do not open random email attachments" but here we are in…

A web browser is an application that safely executes untrusted remote code. It sounds like you don’t want to use a web browser.

Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#106

Post by EGreg »

lxchase wrote: post #88
EGreg wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shouldnt this have been rendered impossible with Apple and Google’s crackdown on third-party cookies? Whether it a 1x1 tracking pixel or a full-blown Javascript, Apple’s ITP protection would seem to render it unables to track people across websites. The key word is SEEM. I have no idea regarding all the contradictory news coming out of all the camps. I posted a question on StackOverflow with a significant bounty that…

I can shed some light on this maybe, don't have a SO account. You're completely right about "SEEM". It does do enough that it significantly lowers the resolution of data and ability for systems to infer your behaviors / persona. It will force more of the ad ecosystem to server to server data pass through: https://developers.google.com/tag-platform/tag-manager/serve... I mention it in a post above, but data brokers ha…

How would third parties track you across websites now? Given any skill level?

I can think of only one: convincing websites to add a CNAME to point subdomains to their servers.

Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#107

Post by princevegeta89 »

Fuck Tiktok.

Apart from being a disgustingly deadly teenage trap it is a privacy leech at the same time. It's time people realized how useless and distracting these social media apps are, and that they are not really necessary for any functioning of the society. Real knowledge could come from reading books and sites like Wikipedia. Tiktok is good for nothing other than trapping tennagers to make them get viral by doing some really nasty/dangerous stuff.

Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#108

Post by zarzavat »

notRobot wrote: post #87
andrewflnr wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, I guess it could be that turning on the "I know what I'm doing" matrix features made it more strict? It seems like every e-commerce site and most blog/news sites want to host all their images offsite (mostly CDNs I assume) in some weird JS-mediated way. Anything with a captcha breaks. Any purchase checkout process that involves other domains, which is almost all of them, can be counted on to break. If s…

uBO can break sites, but in my experience doesn't to the degree that you're describing. Perhaps you should clear all settings and re-install the extension once and see if that helps? Do you maybe have other content blocking extensions running at the same time as uBO that are causing 'clashes'?

For me uBO breaks 3D-secure, so it does in fact break every e-commerce checkout that uses it. I just disable the entire extension before I buy something, but it’s rather awkward.

Re: TikTok tracks you across the web, even if you don’t use the app

#109

Post by octoberfranklin »

superkuh wrote: post #33

The TikTok pixel is not actually a pixel like in the old days. It is not a 1x1 transparent image loaded from their servers. It is executable javascript code. All you have to do to stop 99% of the corporate spying is disable unsafe remote code execution. It's hard to believe I have to say that after the many decades of people getting it drilled into their heads "Do not open random email attachments" but here we are in…

> disable unsafe remote code execution

... cue the WHATWG cronies shreiking "but but but but you will BREAK THE WEB"

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