Giantpaper.org

Tag: privacy

  • “Facebook makes the case for activity tracking to iOS 14 users in new pop-ups”

    “Facebook makes the case for activity tracking to iOS 14 users in new pop-ups”

    Facebook previously bought a full-page newspaper ad with similar messaging, making the case that the change would be particularly negative for local businesses as they struggle during the pandemic. “Beyond hurting apps and websites, many in the small business community say this change will be devastating for them too, at a time when they face enormous challenges,” it read. “Small businesses deserve to be heard. We’re standing up to Apple for our small business customers and our communities.”

    Ars Technica

    But Facebook… 😮

    I own a small business and I hate when huge corporations feign outrage at small businesses being harmed. I do just fine without facebook ads entirely so please don’t speak for me Facebook.

    –TMulligan

    Btw, looking at some of the comments. Deleting the app and your account, or avoiding Facebook in the first place won’t stop them from tracking you. :C

    None in my household have Facebook, but packet inspection on the traffic shows a scary amount of Facebook-related communication. It’s like a mushroom with the mycelium spread through every millimeter of the internet-forest.

    –Ancan

    Facebook buys information from other brokers and merges it into a shadow profile. You could avoid the internet completely and Facebook may have a profile on you (though it would be worthless from their point of view)

    –SeanJW

    Gee, Facebook goes through so much to creepily extract so much info about you. And they’re freaking out when Apple is planning to give people the choice whether or not they want to be tracked? I don’t think “standing up for small businesses” is their motive. 🤔

  • I now use a VPN for all my devices

    All because of this. Earlier I was using the built-in VPN that came with Opera, but since I sometimes use browsers for other things, I wanted a VPN to cover all web browsing activity (and I am a bit leery of free VPNs). So I bit the bullet and got a year of Private Internet Access. So far so good, though I’m noticing some problems…

    Windows 10 only:

    • On startup, after Windows fully boots, it takes a REALLY long time for it to load and start. The first 5 times or so I tried to get it running manually (even though it’s supposed to start automatically), it would take a while to connect, then disconnect. And other times, the software/launcher thing just wouldn’t start. I eventually got it running and connected.

    Android (not sure about iOS):

    • Pokemon Go does not work with a VPN. :/ Each time I tried to get it running, it would say “Cannot login”, and the retry button would loop back to the “Cannot login” error message. Turning off the VPN lets me in the game. (Ingress, PoGo’s predecessor has no problems with a VPN, but it also runs on older code.)
      • There is a setting in the PIA app where you can exclude certain apps like PoGo from the VPN. I tried it, and it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Not sure if it’s a VPN issue or what.

    Windows 10 Mobile:

    • There is no PIA app for W10M, so I had to enter the settings in manually under Settings > Network & Wireless > VPN. One of the biggest problems is that after a few minutes, the VPN disconnects. I found that the VPN can stay connected much longer if I turn off wi-fi (and leave it running on data), and then turn it back on. But it only stays connected for less than 8 hours. It seems to me to be more of a W10M thing than a PIA thing. I don’t think people should have to do these workarounds for something so simple as keeping their VPN connected, so hopefully MS will fix this soon.

    iOS only:

    • Just after I put PIA on my iPad Mini, and let it go into sleep mode, I woke it up and saw that the VPN had disconnected. Lolwut. I turned it back on, and haven’t had problems with it disconnecting since.

    (FYI, I didn’t link to PIA’s site, since I didn’t want it to seem like I was endorsing them, though you can find them by Googling them. They seem to work the best for me, but might not be the case for everyone else–ex. they don’t have a trial version available, and only a 7 day window where you can get a refund if you don’t like it. So you only have 7 days to decide if it’s what you really want. If you’re looking for a VPN, check out this chart that someone made, with a detailed breakdown of each VPN’s strengths and weaknesses. Also you can check out r/VPN for more info on VPNs.)

  • Dream social network, I have found you! <3

    Once upon a time, I raged about Facebook and their hilariously bad decisions in regards to users and their privacy. I then mentioned Diaspora, a decentralized social network that works by having a bunch of “pods” connect to each other, and each pod having user profiles. Each pod stores the user info, instead of on a central site.

    But ;w; there were so very few people on it.

    (more…)
  • “Facebook’s Android app can now retrieve data about what apps you use”

    “Facebook’s Android app can now retrieve data about what apps you use”

    So what they’re saying is…

    NEW Now collects data on what apps you use! We don’t even need to ask!

    Goodness me, Facebook. What other kinds of BS can you come up with? :/

    (more…)