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Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

techcrunch.com

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Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#61

Post by icelancer »

dbbk wrote: post #40
tyingq wrote: post #27

The big question to me is whether it's enabled by default, and whether it blocks requests to Google Analytics. If so, that's an interesting shot across the bow.

This is actually really concerning to me. If they blocked Google Analytics, it would severely damage that data. It'd be bad news for site owners who just want to quantify their traffic.

....so? Site owners are not guaranteed this access; their script runs on the client computer.

I say this as someone who does a lot of analytical research and re-targeting and would be hurt if this was rolled out on a larger scale; I just don't think I have a right to the data.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#62

Post by jacobolus »

dkonofalski wrote: post #58
cptskippy wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're joking right? Factory reset your iPhone sometime and note all of the prompts to share and access your data. The only difference between MS and Apple is that Microsoft made the mistake of presenting everything all on one screen instead of breaking it up over 5 or 10 prompts as you use the device.

There's a huge difference between being asked if it's ok to share your data and just sharing it by default. Additionally, Apple doesn't offer any kind of way for anyone but you to decrypt your data.

I think he’s referring to aggregated anonymized usage data, which people can opt in or out of with no effect on function. (This is different than messages, etc., which are stored on Apple’s servers but end-to-end encrypted.)

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#64

Post by dfischer »

tptacek wrote: post #29

This is great, but unfortunately, until Apple ups its browser security game, Safari is a non-starter. On macOS, switching from any other browser to Chrome is in the top 3 things you can do to materially improve your security in ways that actually matter in the real world.

How is Chrome more secure than Safari on macOS?

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#65

Post by euroclydon »

tptacek wrote: post #29

This is great, but unfortunately, until Apple ups its browser security game, Safari is a non-starter. On macOS, switching from any other browser to Chrome is in the top 3 things you can do to materially improve your security in ways that actually matter in the real world.

So battery life or security, take your pick?

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#66

Post by dmix »

tptacek wrote: post #29

This is great, but unfortunately, until Apple ups its browser security game, Safari is a non-starter. On macOS, switching from any other browser to Chrome is in the top 3 things you can do to materially improve your security in ways that actually matter in the real world.

Do they even try to break Safari at those pwn2own events?

Or is it just assumed to be an easy target/too niche/no money from Apple?

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#67

Post by dkonofalski »

jacobolus wrote: post #62
dkonofalski wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a huge difference between being asked if it's ok to share your data and just sharing it by default. Additionally, Apple doesn't offer any kind of way for anyone but you to decrypt your data.

I think he’s referring to aggregated anonymized usage data, which people can opt in or out of with no effect on function. (This is different than messages, etc., which are stored on Apple’s servers but end-to-end encrypted.)

I know he is, but that's not the same thing as what he's implying and, even then, Apple's solution is opt-in while Microsoft's was on by default.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#68

Post by wolf550e »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #36
tptacek wrote: post #29

This is great, but unfortunately, until Apple ups its browser security game, Safari is a non-starter. On macOS, switching from any other browser to Chrome is in the top 3 things you can do to materially improve your security in ways that actually matter in the real world.

What are the other two (for macOS)?

I guess password manager and U2F yubikey.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#69

Post by josefresco »

ceejayoz wrote: post #20
josefresco wrote: post #12

"the web behaves as it always did" Uhhh, not really. Even if the behavior is unwanted, the web will not "behave" the same - otherwise the feature does nothing.

They pretty clearly mean that the web behaves the same from the user's perspective.

For example: The user will no longer see the ads for items they may have previously searched for (even if this is unwanted/unpopular) - that's a a change. Sorry to be so pedantic but it's not accurate to say nothing behaves differently.

Re: Apple adds a tracker blocker to desktop Safari

#70

Post by code4tee »

Sounds like this is more in line with what they did with ApplePay vs traditional credit cards--I.e. They give you randomized IDs each time so the other party can't track you from transaction to transaction. Adds can still appear but they won't know who you are, so it's a direct shot at Google and others looking to give people "targeted" adds based on user behavior. I agree it's an issue that needs addressed. Just because I searched for X two days ago doesn't mean i want to see adverts on X for the next two months.
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