How Facebook tracks you on Android

The problem is not facebook.
The problem is that your firewall does not blackhole all of these 'social networks' analytics and that ilk. ;)
 
You do that at the browser.
 

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The main benefit of the Internet was that we would get rid of predefined communication channels (aka mass-media) and their ability to steer and control public opinion. Instead of the traditional one-to-many relation of television and newspapers (which was upheld by the sheer amount of investment needed to run a tv-station or newspaper), on the Internet every participant can publish, and so there is the possibility for arbitrary any-to-any relations, which was considered a big advantage and gain in freedom and self-determination.

Now it seems, we have replaced the traditional means of mass-influencing by a much more intrusive and effective way of individualized mass-influencing, which is no longer under control of the governments but under the control of international corporate structures which are controlled by - whom?
 
which is no longer under control of the governments but under the control of international corporate structures which are controlled by - whom?

The new enemy, same as the old. Google and powerful international corporations now dictate the limits to freedom of speech (which limits freedom of thought). I'll never forget the answer Eric Schmidt gave to the question of privacy: "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, then maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." Was gobsmacked when I heard him say that. Like, who the fuck are you to decide what people should and shouldn't do, or what people should and shouldn't want to keep private. You can apply that destructive reprimand to anything: politics, faith, family, etc.

 
I must confess I use an Android device - mainly because it's enjoyable and convenient. It's a Huawei P Smart so it's entirely possible that not just one but two nations are spying on me.
I'm massively into tech and prefer not to be left behind I don't see there's much other choice than to accept the privacy/convenience trade-off.
I tried I really did. When the Ubuntu phones from BQ arrived a few years back I enthusiastically bought one of the world's first Linux phones. It might have respected my fundamental rights but it was unusable. The predictive/corrective text function outputted the most insane suggestions continually so you would soon want to throw the phone across the room. The app store was empty. The web browser was slow. It was a miserable user experience.
I know some people are so idealistic that they won't own an Android device and I deeply respect them for it - I just don't have such willpower.
As a geek I *need* these things! I wouldn't be surprised if Richard Stallman is crying over his monochrome GNewSense Chinese ARM netbook... or whatever he's using nowadays... Wishing he'd never started all that freedom rhetoric cos the poor guy just... wants... to tap on an iPad... 😂🤣
 
The heads of these companies were losers all their lives no matter how much money they had. This is their attempt at revenge. 😂
It looks like sarcasm. But, it's something like as you wrote. For Facebook, it's about the false religions of power & money with apathy. Facebook doesn't respect anything.

Zuckerberg is really off.

"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, then maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."
It's true, but it's pathetic when it is used as an excuse or justification to spy, which they also "shouldn't be doing it [spy] in the first place". The profane language is warranted IMO.
 
linux->bsd Please watch your language. This isn't reddit.

I've never used reddit, but now I'm envisioning pages of posts of nothing but curse words just for the hell of it.

Oh man, you are my worst nightmare. It's people like you that convince app developers and their parent companies that's it's okay to violate their users' privacy and continuously cross the line of decency, because you'll just take it and shrug. I'd say "your life, your choice," but you and the people like you negatively and drastically affect the products that are created, and therefore what's available to me. It's why my phone is essentially broken (all apps are blocked by a rooted firewall, so they constantly crash because they can't phone home with my personal details). And yet, there is a massive organization of tech-literate people that are constantly fighting to undo your effect. Such a trip to watch this play out.
 
There's limited choice, because many companies are no longer. Either use a phone without Internet, or have spyware. There's only Android, Apple or some rare OS that's supposed to be opensource, but worse.
 
There's limited choice, because many companies are no longer. Either use a phone without Internet, or have spyware. There's only Android, Apple or some rare OS that's supposed to be opensource, but worse.

I recently looked into a handful of AOSP-based custom ROMs that look very enticing. It's a shame CyanogenMod imploded the way it did. That wiped out a mainstream alternative to Android, Apple, and Windows Mobile.
 
Lol. I am tech literate, I just have different priorities. This kinda reminds me of when vegans get wound up about others not being vegan. It's great that you'd rather suffer than be involved with wrongdoing but have respect for those who choose not to suffer.
 
It's true, but it's pathetic when it is used as an excuse or justification to spy, which they also "shouldn't be doing it in the first place". The profane language is warranted IMO.
Yes, it's the "why did that sl*t had to dress like that?" defense.
But you simply put your tinfoil hat on and check who gave google the startup venture capital.
 
I recently looked into a handful of AOSP-based custom ROMs that look very enticing. It's a shame CyanogenMod imploded the way it did. That wiped out a mainstream alternative to Android, Apple, and Windows Mobile.

CM is now LineageOS and I'm running version 15.1 (Android 8.1) on my S5. CM is not AOSP. It's its own version taken from Android sources. Most custom ROMS are based on either CM or AOSP. Neither are compatible. There are also a handful of custom ROMS taken from Touchwiz that were debloated.
 
Yes, it's the "why did that sl*t had to dress like that?" defense.
But you simply put your tinfoil hat on and check who gave google the startup venture capital.
Not really. There are things on the Internet we shouldn't do, but that doesn't mean we should have our data sold for profit or manipulation. Google is at least honest, but it requires one to trust a corporation, where there is no trust. Twitter is straight-forward, saying, you are who you say you are, it's all logged. Facebook just plays games, moves goalposts with little to no warning and sells data in the most disrespectful ways.

A girl dressing however she wants is no excuse for someone to do what they're not supposed to. That's an excuse, she dresses a way, and for something small, some thinks he has the right to ruin her life? A girl should be able to dress how she wants with no major consequences, unfortunately, we live in a world with lowlives who feel entitled and make lame excuses, so it's not wise to dress like that. Internet surfing is not an equal comparison to that.
 
I know some people are so idealistic that they won't own an Android device and I deeply respect them for it - I just don't have such willpower.
As a geek I *need* these things!

Never having owned a smartphone I must not know what I'm missing out on.

Ignorance is bliss. :)
 
sidetone
Maybe I did not make that clear enough. The excuse "You should not do stuff in the first place when you don't want us to spy on you" is on the same level as the one I cited.

Sure, everybody should be able to dress how one wants (this includes guys) without provoking violence. But there is always a line. Going to church in a bikini may be considered that line crossed, but where is that line exactly? Same for going shopping in a SS uniform. Do that and expect not to get your behind into hard contact with heavy footwear? Not where I live. Why do we defend the one choice and not the other? Why is google not sued into kingdom come?
Thinking all of that trough can get you to some unpleasant things about yourself and reality.
 
I'll never forget the answer Eric Schmidt gave to the question of privacy: "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, then maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."

This indeed does unravel a bit of the background and the "greater picture": we have a new definition of the word "clean" (with the bias into "transparent"). Then, if You're a bit into Freudian psychology, this can trigger a mind-blowing meditation... (it is the same scheme according to which people in former times tended to suppress "dirty" sexuality due to seemingly-christian doctrines. But this time the "priests" have no values at all, and are unconscious themselves.)

The Agile fancy tried to set the programmers free from their cubicles, but now we all shall live in nicely clean, tidy and uniform cubicles in our mind. And there is currently no proper way to stand up against this, because the privacy argument is weak, and the true and valid argument against it is considered "evil" (just like "dirty" language is considered "evil").
 
The level of severity is different.

A girl should be able to walk outside in a bikini without consequence. If anyone goes to work or to an event in the wrong attire, the minor consequence is just, "go home." Even if she's dressed conservatively, some womanizer will try to hit on her in an attempt to use her. Human traffickers excuses are, well someone was born.

I should be able to take home a huge tv, without someone making up the excuse, "he should have covered it." Suppose I didn't have a big enough towel to cover a big screen tv, that I would of had to make another trip. Suppose someone stole an expensive tool, because I left it in the car, because I couldn't park close enough behind an opaque fence to hide it from prying eyes to take it inside. If I leave a bike out for 2 minutes, someone thinks, well, he shouldn't have left it out. Well, you shouldn't trespass to steal it, and you shouldn't steal it. People make lame excuses. Facebook shouldn't be doing that kind of stuff.

Pearls before swine.

For someone like Zuckerberg who makes excuses, if he can live by his rules for others, why does he pay security to guard his trash can? He's doing what he shouldn't be doing. By his own standards, he's not playing by his rules, because he can't.

Different corporate heads are playing by different rules, some possibly at least they could play by themselves.

But, there are things that are legal that we shouldn't be doing on the Internet depending on various or our own opinions. It doesn't mean it should be exploited. It also doesn't mean the consequences should be disproportionate. For things we should be doing, without a doubt, companies shouldn't be prying on us, because innocent stuff gets used against us, individually or up to the whole society. Information being used against them is also the case for those who say they have nothing to hide.
 
From what I have seen and heard there just aren't enough people that are tech-privacy-literate to support any movement away from current practices. This, in my opinion, is why nothing changes. The majority of people are so hopelessly dependent on their computers and smartphones that they cannot be bothered with things like arguing for thier privacy. They think that since their bank accounts are not currently being robbed, that there is nothing to worry about. Sadly, it could not be further from the truth. It is a smart move by the big corporations to get them hooked before(if) they know better. Even if there is an argument, if the majority of (tech-privacy-illiterate) people do not want a change, it will not happen because they will continue to consume and purchase the related products and services without question. Those of us who are concerned will continue to go unnoticed.
 
linux->bsd said:
I recently looked into a handful of AOSP-based custom ROMs that look very enticing.
The only good AOSP ROM is the one that you compile yourself for yourself on Nexus phones.

;)

And one of the many good things about doing that is that it will specifically *not* have gapps.
 
This videos reminds me why I don't have a smartphone. I really like the part where the app, when opting-out, actually send more data to Facebook.


Not having a smartphone means not to work for a large company.
Large corporate / companies oblige employees to use smartphones very often in Europe.
 
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