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

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

#171

Post by classified »

bradleybuda wrote: post #105
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.

Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind running this cryptominer in your browser for me. It's safe.

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

#172

Post by blacklight »

Zak wrote: post #53
blacklight wrote: post #47

Just use NoScript, uBlock and/or a VPN with a PiHole server as a primary DNS and stop whining. Of course I do hate it that the only way to make money on the web today is though ads and trackers. Of course I hate it to be monitored by sneaky pixels, even if I don't use the app. But the solution to the problem is quite simple: does my browser actually render and run the Javascript? If the answer is no (because the trac…

That's harder to do on mobile devices. Good system-wide, every-network adblocking on Android requires root. It's hard to obtain root on some devices, and Google is actively aiding app makers to block rooted devices with SafetyNet. I lack experience with iOS, but I assume the situation is worse there. As a practical matter, this means that while I can tell my mother to install uBlock Origin on her desktop browser, it…

I have a VPS with a Wireguard VPN that runs a PiHole DNS on it. Just toggling the VPN switch on Android is sufficient to get all the DNS requests to tracking domains flushed down the sinkhole - no root required.

Granted, it takes some technical skills to set up, but once it's set up other people can easily connect to the same VPN and have the same level of protection - my wife's and my mother's phones are also connected to the same VPN.

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

#173

Post by vladvasiliu »

EGreg wrote: post #106
lxchase wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I don't work in the ad space, but it's my understanding that that's where things are going.

See here for Facebook, but I'd expect other providers to do the same.

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/conversio...

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

#174

Post by andrewflnr »

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'?

I'll probably give this a shot. The only settings changes I can remember are allowing things, but I could be wrong. No other content-blocker extensions, I believe.

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

#175

Post by aembleton »

jjav wrote: post #139
stjohnswarts wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as firefox maintains the API it should work just fine. But the day the don't a lot of people will be unhappy. I always figured some bored javascript wizard would eventually pick it up since gorhill archived it, but I don't think anyone has

I so wish umatrix maintenance was restarted. Hopefully someone capable will. I'd donate money to that effort. While ublock origin is nice, umatrix is so much better.

What improvements do you think should be made to it?

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

#176

Post by f137 »

> The Arizona Department of Economic Security tells TikTok when you view > pages concerned with domestic violence or food assistance.

I mean, I understand a random site doing this sh*t, but this is a gov agency, right? What the hell any ad tracking is doing there?

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

#177

Post by aembleton »

doc_gunthrop wrote: post #170

Plenty of comments here talking about using uBlock [Origin], piHole, disabling JS, and so on, but it doesn't look like anybody has bothered to ask specifically how TikTok is actually doing the tracking. And TFA doesn't explain the method(s) in any technical detail. I visited several of the sites mentioned in TFA, and uBlock didn't show any connection requests being made to any tiktok-related URLs. Nor were there any…

I just tried the United Methodist Church website [1] after disabling UBo and accepting cookies. It then GETs an events JS file from tiktok.com, which runs and GETs a main JS file from tiktok.com that then makes a POST request to tiktok.com containing my device, page url, referrer, session ID, useragent and timestamp.

If you are running uBlock then you are probably blocking google tag manager that initiates these calls.

1. https://www.umc.org/

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

#178

Post by aembleton »

Zak wrote: post #53
blacklight wrote: post #47

Just use NoScript, uBlock and/or a VPN with a PiHole server as a primary DNS and stop whining. Of course I do hate it that the only way to make money on the web today is though ads and trackers. Of course I hate it to be monitored by sneaky pixels, even if I don't use the app. But the solution to the problem is quite simple: does my browser actually render and run the Javascript? If the answer is no (because the trac…

That's harder to do on mobile devices. Good system-wide, every-network adblocking on Android requires root. It's hard to obtain root on some devices, and Google is actively aiding app makers to block rooted devices with SafetyNet. I lack experience with iOS, but I assume the situation is worse there. As a practical matter, this means that while I can tell my mother to install uBlock Origin on her desktop browser, it…

You don't need to root your device to set the DNS. MiUI does hide the setting, but stock android has it in the settings. You can then set your DNS to dns.adguard.com or create a nextDns account. Then you can block ads system wide.

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

#179

Post by aembleton »

nashashmi wrote: post #8

What is the source of the tracker? It can't be tiktok.com. They must be using a different name domain.

analytics.tiktok.com. googletagmanager.com has a script that gets the analytics JS from tiktok, so if you're blocking Google Tag Manager, then you'll never even see an attempt at loading from tiktok.

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

#180

Post by aembleton »

justtosaythanks wrote: post #6

Thanks for posting this! Ok as a web dev who actively cares about user privacy—- can these things accidentally sneak onto my page through npm deps? Or would I need to install them deliberately? If so —— how are they on gov websites??

Couldn't you just try out your webpage in your browser and see what network calls are being made? That way you can see if you're calling Tiktok or not.
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