I don’t use google stuff rn so…
Not even Google maps since I had an ad placed in my route so it clicked the ad while I was selecting which route to take. Bu bye
Me neither, but I guess the tracking will also take place when you just browse the internet and visit websites, that have Google Ad Tracking technologies implemented (which could be the majority of websites). Tracking and Ad-Blockers like uBlock might help a bit, though.
The specifics are complex—these are the algorithms that ingest all the data signals you give off when browsing the internet on any device, some based on who you are—device, IP and credential identifiers, but also the sites you visit and apps you use as a map to be followed and analyzed.
I’ve been using Noscript on firefox for a while. It basically blocks any JavaScript (and other stuff) unless you specifically allow it. It’s not something that I would recommend for a casual user, because it breaks lots of sites. By using it, I’ve discovered how much nonessential stuff is jammed into your browser. Most of it is analytics and tracking. One home improvement store has over 25 scripts when less than a quarter are needed for a functioning site.
Some of the biggest offenders: offenders:
- home improvement stores
- car dealerships
- some big box retailers
Also, a shoutout to decentraleyes, a plugin to use local copies of JavaScript code so that it’s not downloaded (and reported back to) Google.
Same here. I was a uMatrix user for a long time and I was astonished sometimes how bloated some sites were with scripts and tracking domains. Nowadays I mostly use Edge on my work machine which is somehow ad-free but all sites work.
Firefox with uBlock / uMatrix needed often too much fine tuning to make sites work properly.
I strongly recommended installing EFF’s Privacy Badger on your and your relatives browsers.
This stops many trackers, and causes less side effects and less breakages than most filters (unlock et all).
Another option if you wish to protect your whole network is to set up something like pi-hole or AdGuard. I recently set up pi-hole on our network. I’m shocked by the amount of blocked traffic coming from phones and windows machines. Don’t even get me started on the traffic from our smart tv.
basically they hijack dns resolution to return does not exist errors when requests are sent to the tracking systems. highly effective, but also many sites are negatively impacted by them because no one codes for failure in the web industry.
If you have uBlock Origin then Privacy Badger is redundant. Also, more extensions = easier fingerprinting.
Privacy Badger focus on blocking trackers. uBlock origin blocks all kind of things Ads,Trackers,etc and so it have a higher risk of breaking sites.
Yes, they’re mostly redundant. Happy uBlock Origin users should probably keep using just uBlock. People who don’t use uBlock to avoid breaking websites, or just want to block trackers, should use Privacy Badger.
I’m on grapheneOS using Ironfox (fork of Mull because it’s been killed off), I should be safe, right?
Is Mull VPN included in that? I’m not familiar with DivestOS.
I just updated the app yesterday, hopefully that’s not the last one…
Edit: I meant “MullvadVPN”
No. They are fingerprinting you when you use Google services, including Google ads on other sites.
I thought they were already doing this… what’s new now?
I wouldn‘t know, but could be it says something about that in the attached hyperlink.
What’s scary is all of the ways they can track you even without your browser actively cooperating. For example, they can create an HTML5 canvas, render a bunch of shapes, and then probe individual pixels to get a read on your graphics card and drivers. The EFF has a very educational test you can subject your browser to in order to see how easy it is to fingerprint it based on these kinds of things.
Kind of surprised to see that Brave does much better in this test than Firefox with extensions (on Android)
