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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

#191

Post by klabb3 »

iamacyborg wrote: post #164
klabb3 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

I was talking on a podcast yesterday about a wiki project I’ve been involved in and one of the things that was eye opening for the audience was just how insane those requests can be. We literally pulled up a page that showed a single wiki page making >500 ad server requests. https://pagexray.fouanalytics.com/q/pathofexile.fandom.com%2...

What in the actual f, that is an insane amount, and really well visualized too! Why? What was the podcast?

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

#192

Post by jxramos »

Kerrick wrote: post #89
jxramos wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this may be daydreaming too shallowly, but I wonder if basic Javascript UI patterns could be identified by some tool. Something along the lines of a new pane showing up in the Developer Tools that semantically identifies the roles of certain Javascript. * This block of code ensures these UI elements are synched among each other. * This block of code sends this UI data to this server address. Something that gives a ro…

Even without that tool, HTML continues to evolve and add common “components” that people have used JavaScript to create for decades, which work without (or with minimal) JS. For example, and , , , and more.

That’s interesting so your saying when developers offload to the html standard typical UI workflows that have been baked into certain html tags then there’s less innocuous JS to have to wade through in the first place. That’s amazing actually and very welcomed.

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

#193

Post by iamacyborg »

klabb3 wrote: post #191
iamacyborg wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was talking on a podcast yesterday about a wiki project I’ve been involved in and one of the things that was eye opening for the audience was just how insane those requests can be. We literally pulled up a page that showed a single wiki page making >500 ad server requests. https://pagexray.fouanalytics.com/q/pathofexile.fandom.com%2...

What in the actual f, that is an insane amount, and really well visualized too! Why? What was the podcast?

It’s all about the history of the wiki and how we went about forking it from Fandom.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kqENNDKd2nw

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

#195

Post by doc_gunthrop »

aembleton wrote: post #177
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 call…

Thanks for this. I hadn't considered googletagmanager.com but that appears to be the likely culprit as it is the common denominator between these sites.

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

#196

Post by giardini »

klabb3 wrote: post #102
dijit wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

"toothfully patched"?

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

#197

Post by realusername »

sfvegandude wrote: post #190
realusername wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do and unlike a browser you have no control over it

If this were the case, it would be a huge lawsuit, given they state the opposite: You can turn off Personalized Ads on your iOS or iPadOS device by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising and tapping to turn off Personalized Ads. On Mac, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Privacy, click Apple Advertising, and deselect Personalized Ads. The Personalized Ads option may be unavailable if you…

That's up to you to believe that yeah (also the wording isn't very clear on what is still included either), I prefer just cutting off the data.

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

#198

Post by number6 »

timrice wrote: post #189
number6 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The argument goes, that if they can target you for ads they can also correlate this with political beliefs, your ethnicity, your financial situation and so one. If you want a credit and you are friends with people who don't pay back their debts you are also a risk for the bank and get a higher rate. If you want an insurance and you are a extrem cyclists you won't get one. If you open a shopping side and they know you…

Yes, I am very aware of all the potential dangers, which contributes to my blocking everything in the first place. I am curious if, in the United States, there are any realized dangers to these privacy violations. The Udemy thing is interesting, but it's also (as far as I can tell) just doing stuff with first party cookies and region lookups. Nothing at all the level of sophistication that is being observed from Meta…

Google and Facebook coin it as violation of their terms. Just watch HN and you will get the next story every other month.

But the most chilling quote is "we kill people based on metadata":

As NSA General Counsel Stewart Baker has said, “metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you have enough metadata, you don’t really need content.” When I quoted Baker at a recent debate at Johns Hopkins University, my opponent, General Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and the CIA, called Baker’s comment “absolutely correct,” and raised him one, asserting, “We kill people based on metadata.”

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

#199

Post by dbg3386 »

jacooper wrote: post #90
DerekBickerton wrote: post #3

> You can’t stop data collection from the tech industry altogether, but with a few simple steps you can make a dent in the amount of information that’s being collected. > Use privacy-protecting browser extensions. You can add extensions to your browser that will do a lot to protect your privacy. One is Disconnect, made by the company that performed our TikTok investigation. The Disconnect extension shows you how webs…

You dont need UBlock with Brave, brave Shields do what UBlock does while being faster(rust) and integrated in the browser.

This is mostly true however Brave Shields do not support the $removeparam operator so it is unable to remove url based tracking. You still need uBO or the ClearURLs extension to do that. https://github.com/brave/adblock-rust/issues/166)

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

#200

Post by timrice »

number6 wrote: post #198
timrice wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I am very aware of all the potential dangers, which contributes to my blocking everything in the first place. I am curious if, in the United States, there are any realized dangers to these privacy violations. The Udemy thing is interesting, but it's also (as far as I can tell) just doing stuff with first party cookies and region lookups. Nothing at all the level of sophistication that is being observed from Meta…

Google and Facebook coin it as violation of their terms. Just watch HN and you will get the next story every other month. But the most chilling quote is "we kill people based on metadata": As NSA General Counsel Stewart Baker has said, “metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you have enough metadata, you don’t really need content.” When I quoted Baker at a recent debate at Johns Hopkins Un…

I'm not entirely sure what you're hinting at. Are you saying that the US military and intelligence agencies use metadata to track down and kill people that they deem as enemies? And that Meta/Google/etc. are in cahoots with them to do this?

Can you link me example of this happening? Is there credible evidence that an ordinary citizen (like myself) is in more danger from state actors because of the information harvesting that large corporations engage in? I feel like if the government wants to track down and kill me they already have my address, cell phone records, etc. No need to contact Meta or Tiktok.

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