I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services • Hacker News Board

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#351

Post by g-b-r » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:40 PM UTC

cortesoft wrote: post #163

bArray wrote: post #6

I was sitting in a room the other day with a young adult, we were searching for additional algorithm learning materials. They searched in Google, and accept the cookies. They clicked on a website, and accepted those cookies too. They then started entering their email address to access another service. I was completely taken aback. I'm the sort of person that either rejects the cookies, or will use another site entire…

I am in my mid forties, been working as a professional software developer for over 20 years. I click “accept the cookies” almost every time. I just personally don’t feel it’s worth the effort and cost to try to avoid it. What “dark pattern cookie trick” are you worried about? I just can’t come up with a scenario where it will actually harm me in any way. All the examples I have heard are either completely implausible…

It seems crazy that no one stressed it yet: for the last few years refusing the cookies has been requiring EXACTLY the same effort as accepting them, for the wide majority of websites!!!

It's disheartening that so many people still do this (and not accepting has rarely ever required enormous efforts, to begin with).

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#352

Post by prmoustache » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:41 PM UTC

pocksuppet wrote: post #328

mixmastamyk wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firefox has a setting to dump cookies on exit, which I use.

And there's Firefox Klar on Android. It forgets everything on exit. Some people call it a porn browser, but I've gotten used to it for general use when I don't need to log in somewhere.

For those that wonder, Klar is Firefox Focus with telemtry disabled by default. It is available on german speaking countries due to trademark avoidance with the Focus magazine.

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#353

Post by keerthiko » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:41 PM UTC

cortesoft wrote: post #310

1shooner wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, if you don't practice any tracking limitation, you're almost certainly giving additional parties (directly or otherwise) access to your personal information. This is marketing data brokerage, this is the whole ballgame. To your point about the actual harm, I've come to see it as a kind of ecological problem. Wasting energy and sending more trash to a landfill doesn't harm me individually, at least not i…

Sadly, this still doesn't do anything to show me that I should opt out. I, as an individual, am not going to have any effect on a business if I opt out or not. No business decision is going to be made because I opt out. You might argue that it will matter if enough of us do it. Sure, that is true... but again, it won't matter if I do it or not. If N number of people opting out is enough to ruin the business model, th…

This is the exact same logic as opting to not go through the hassle of registering to and casting your vote in your national elections (unless that physically isn't an option where you live) -- yes, your government isn't going to make a decision one way or another based on your vote alone. But will you affect the sociopolitical trends by whatever fraction of societal opinion you represent?

It may be you don't believe in democracy at all, and that's fair, but consumer action is the only way you can affect business decisions, by joining the decision-cohort you agree with more. Joining the opposite cohort because it's less work represents that you're okay with things continuing in that direction.

That said, I agree with the work it takes to navigate cookie banners being excessive (hence dark pattern), which is why my default browser config = ublock + consent-o-matic [1]

[1]: https://consentomatic.au.dk/

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#354

Post by sib » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:41 PM UTC

Fervicus wrote: post #83

bArray wrote: post #6

I was sitting in a room the other day with a young adult, we were searching for additional algorithm learning materials. They searched in Google, and accept the cookies. They clicked on a website, and accepted those cookies too. They then started entering their email address to access another service. I was completely taken aback. I'm the sort of person that either rejects the cookies, or will use another site entire…

People around me (including engineers) all casually use things like Alexa, Google Home, Ring, Nest, Chrome, are always signed into Google, have all sorts of apps installed on their phones, and have no problems giving up their phone numbers to services for verification. It's crazy.

"Apps installed on their phones"

"Use Chrome"

"Crazy"

Or, completely normal behavior. Are you suggesting that people should live in a shed in the woods like the Unabomber?

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#355

Post by Pxtl » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:45 PM UTC

bArray wrote: post #6

I was sitting in a room the other day with a young adult, we were searching for additional algorithm learning materials. They searched in Google, and accept the cookies. They clicked on a website, and accepted those cookies too. They then started entering their email address to access another service. I was completely taken aback. I'm the sort of person that either rejects the cookies, or will use another site entire…

The cookie dialog was a mistake -- this is something that should've been handled as a browser API. A standard dialog of "do you consent to cookies yes/no/functional-only" should be part of the HTTP headers.

Same thing with age verification. My kids all have devices that are managed through parental systems like Google Family Link and Microsoft Family Safety. It would be straightforward to have a header for "user is an adult" or not, and to have a standard API for "this site is requesting metadata that you haven't said to automatically make available without permission. Do you want to send it? Y/N [ ]checkbox use this for all sites.

The only time we should even be talking about full identity verification is on user-submitted content, and even then that should be up to the site (with the commensurate legal liability of hosting anonymous slop).

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#356

Post by sophacles » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:45 PM UTC

cortesoft wrote: post #278

autoexec wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I click “accept the cookies” almost every time. I just personally don’t feel it’s worth the effort and cost to try to avoid it. the effort and cost to download an ad-blocker that automatically removes the prompt to accept/deny entirely is practically zero and the amount of clicks you'd save yourself would quickly exceed the clicks it took to install the blocker. > I just don’t think it is something that is worth st…

> I'd be willing to bet the data being collected by tracking your browsing history has already been screwing you over in various aspects of your life, online and offline, but you won't be told when it happens or why. Ok, can you give me a plausible example of what that harm could be? This seems in line with the exact thing I said in my comment; every time I ask how it could harm me, I am given vague statements about…

And when the government uses that data to round you up? Sure maybe you aren't an immigrant... but are you in the next group they target, or the group after that?

Maybe not, but does that matter when they use an advertising profile to make your life hell before determining you're not in the problem group? Will they even bother to check? They already have been hassling and detaining citizens on similar sloppy suspicions around immigration.

Even if you're a perfect aryan and think you're safe from the current regime... will the next one have the same notion of perfect?

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#357

Post by manbash » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:46 PM UTC

cortesoft wrote: post #163

bArray wrote: post #6

I was sitting in a room the other day with a young adult, we were searching for additional algorithm learning materials. They searched in Google, and accept the cookies. They clicked on a website, and accepted those cookies too. They then started entering their email address to access another service. I was completely taken aback. I'm the sort of person that either rejects the cookies, or will use another site entire…

I am in my mid forties, been working as a professional software developer for over 20 years. I click “accept the cookies” almost every time. I just personally don’t feel it’s worth the effort and cost to try to avoid it. What “dark pattern cookie trick” are you worried about? I just can’t come up with a scenario where it will actually harm me in any way. All the examples I have heard are either completely implausible…

"software developer" is pretty broad. Here this is specifically B2C (business to customer) applications. I only assume that you haven't been in this market sector, otherwise you would've been more familiar with GDPR and all the concerns that prompted it.

There was a time where the Internet was the wild west and you could've easily been personally targeted and exploited. Businesses sold your data to whoever.

Even today, if you decide to accept all cookies, you're safer than what you used to be.

Rejecting the non-essential cookies puts you in the safest spot from bad actors.

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#358

Post by crummy » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:47 PM UTC

cluckindan wrote: post #304

cortesoft wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, so suppose I am consenting to all of those things. I still have the same question… how is my life going to be made worse by that happening?

Are you saying ”I don’t have anything to hide”? All of your data starts affecting everything your data is used for. You may get worse rates for a mortgage, or not get one at all. You may be denied insurance or insurance claims. Cherry-picked details of your online activities may be used against you in a court of law, if you ever find yourself in one for any reason (think custody). These are the very mild examples fro…

Presumably you might also get better rates for a mortgage, to be fair.

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#359

Post by graemep » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

cortesoft wrote: post #310

1shooner wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, if you don't practice any tracking limitation, you're almost certainly giving additional parties (directly or otherwise) access to your personal information. This is marketing data brokerage, this is the whole ballgame. To your point about the actual harm, I've come to see it as a kind of ecological problem. Wasting energy and sending more trash to a landfill doesn't harm me individually, at least not i…

Sadly, this still doesn't do anything to show me that I should opt out. I, as an individual, am not going to have any effect on a business if I opt out or not. No business decision is going to be made because I opt out. You might argue that it will matter if enough of us do it. Sure, that is true... but again, it won't matter if I do it or not. If N number of people opting out is enough to ruin the business model, th…

You could use exactly the same argument for not bothering about doing things that pollute, generate landfill, or generally make things worse for society.

Its highly unlikely your vote will swing an election.

If you want easy things to do use cookie blocking extensions.

Re: I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services

#360

Post by stronglikedan » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 6:50 PM UTC

bArray wrote: post #6

I was sitting in a room the other day with a young adult, we were searching for additional algorithm learning materials. They searched in Google, and accept the cookies. They clicked on a website, and accepted those cookies too. They then started entering their email address to access another service. I was completely taken aback. I'm the sort of person that either rejects the cookies, or will use another site entire…

I'm over "middle aged" and just accept everything as well. Same with email - who cares who has it when we have adequate filtering in this year of our lord. I've never had anything negative come of it, and I'll be surprised if anything ever does. Seems like a lot to worry about for nothing.