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Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

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Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#331

Post by account42 »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #325
alkonaut wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on their stance on the issue but individuals don’t necessarily share the views of their employers. WaPo is by no means worst here. But their omission of Adblock in this article means they can’t be credible.

"But their omission of Adblock in this article means they can't be credible." But adblockers do not fully solve the problem that the article is focused on. Namely, the use, e.g., by Meta and Yandex, of websockets in closed source mobile apps to listen on a loopback address for requests by mobile browsers, e.g., for tracking pixels. There are approaches to prevent such tracking that do not necessarily require adblocke…

Ad blockers can and do also block connections that aren't strictly "ads" themselves.

Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#332

Post by account42 »

brookst wrote: post #160
ninth_ant wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A media outlet which depends on ad revenue as a primary income source is unlikely to suggest this. Ditching these deeply invasive products remains a good idea, independent on any decision to use ad blockers or not. The Meta/Yandex incident in particular is straight-up malware and everyone should remove their apps.

You’re not wrong, but there was a time many of olds remember when editorial content and commercial concerns were firewalled. It used to be outrageous, and usually wrong, to suggest an editorial position was contingent upon a business benefit for the media outlet. I miss those days.

It was always naive to believe that business interests do not influence the content.

You can't firewall a journalist's understanding that their job depends on certain things.

Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#333

Post by account42 »

haiku2077 wrote: post #259
everdrive wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for non-negotiables (eg: bill paying, government websites, etc.) a website that fully breaks when blocking js is just a worthless site which is not worth my time.

Anubis ( https://anubis.techaro.lol ) requires Javascript and is required to view some otherwise static websites now because AI scrapers are ruining the internet for small websites.

AI scrapers are a weak excuse for slapping on malware on your website.

Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#334

Post by account42 »

IgorPartola wrote: post #97
kvdveer wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NoScript is indeed very effective at blocking tracking, but it also breaks a lot of websites. If that is an acceptable compromise, you could also try ditching the Internet altogether, as that not only blocks all online tracking, it also blocks a lot of fraud, misinformation and all kinds of harmful content.

That’s always my problem with NoScript being suggested. For some people who consume stuff off RSS feeds or static sites and Wikipedia that probably works. But for literally anything more than that you can’t do that.

> But for literally anything more than that you can’t do that.

You literally (actually literally) can.

Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#336

Post by averageRoyalty »

msgodel wrote: post #244
capyba wrote: post #162

I don’t know anyone that works at Meta, so I’m hoping that someone here could answer this for me- What makes employees there feel good (or at least okay) about doing stuff like this? You're spying on people, no? Surveilling ordinary people, not enemy combatants or foreign militaries? Perhaps a friend of a friend or even a family member? This kind of thing is so creepy and disturbing to me, not that it’s anything new…

I know it's not so hip here but the answer is money. You go to work for money. It's not to socialize, not for personal growth, and not for charity. If I want those things I have hobbies (including hobby programming.)

Most people would say no if they were offered a full time salary to spy on their friends, steal their data and act in a overtly unethical way every day. But these companies give them an abstraction layer.

There are plenty of things you can do for money that are not (or are significantly less) unethical.

Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#337

Post by thadk »

politelemon wrote: post #185
thadk wrote: post #93

Anyone have tips on how to avoid having the WhatsApp app on your phone?

The question may need a little more context - it's easy to avoid by simply uninstalling it. If you're actually asking how to minimize its presence, consider using an app like Island which isolates the apps into a separate profile which can't see anything in your main profile.

I hadn't heard of that one, thanks: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details

Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#338

Post by 1718627440 »

capyba wrote: post #162

I don’t know anyone that works at Meta, so I’m hoping that someone here could answer this for me- What makes employees there feel good (or at least okay) about doing stuff like this? You're spying on people, no? Surveilling ordinary people, not enemy combatants or foreign militaries? Perhaps a friend of a friend or even a family member? This kind of thing is so creepy and disturbing to me, not that it’s anything new…

Pretty sure, that if they use a Meta product, they are also deploying the spyware to themselves.

Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#339

Post by 1718627440 »

jajko wrote: post #183
bloomca wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Money, it's just business. I think every big corp is morally bankrupt (otherwise they wouldn't be big). There are some exceptions, of course, if a company found a sustainable way to monetize their output. But the baseline is really bad.

Its way less bad than some investors ie on Wall street or arms/military business, by huge margin. Folks scamming old people out of money or encrypting their HDDs for ransom should be shot in sight. But - this topic affects billions very directly, and its not about the effect now , but helping general direction which is outright evil by any moral standards. I can pull out usual godwin's law plug but I guess we all kno…

I would say some scammers targetting single persons/companies are doing less harm then the once building the next Hollerith machines (like Meta).

Re: Washington Post's Privacy Tip: Stop Using Chrome, Delete Meta Apps (and Yandex)

#340

Post by 1718627440 »

elendee wrote: post #148
t-writescode wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a relatively new web dev and I've been quite happy with Firefox's Web Dev tools. What does Chrome's dev tools give someone that Firefox's doesn't? I can edit css on the fly, see where a css rule is being overwritten, debug javascript, etc.

firefox doesnt have Workspaces. I do 100% of my CSS in Chrome Workspaces

What do Chrome Workspaces have, that Firefox Profiles don't have?
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