This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
In the few short hours since I started using #Threads, #DuckDuckGo has already blocked over 200 data tracking attempts. These include things like "headphone status" and "screen density."
Holy shit. I'd ask how the fuck is this even legal, but seeing EU's reaction I guess it really kinda isn't
At this point I think it would be more informative to simply display the data they don't collect. My guess is "nothing".
200 in a few hours sounds like a lot (well, it is) but is small compared to some apps I use. Revolut tried to make tens of thousands of requests in an hour last time I looked! I expect that particular app is coded badly so when it gets rejected it just endlessly tries to repeat the request.
I highly recommend everyone installs something like the DuckDuckGo android app because it blocks tracking attempts in all apps. It's a bit horrifying to see how often, how much, and what type of data all our apps are requesting.
I didn't know DuckDuckGo had the app tracker feature. It was just a browser the last time I gave it a go. Thanks for the tip! I've been using NextDNS for my Private DNS on Android for awhile. I had to temporarily disable it for DuckDuckGo to identify the trackers. It looks like NextDNS was doing a good job blocking them.
It might be surprlus to your requirements then, I've seen in a few discussions on here there's lots of alternatives. Some apps it 'breaks' so I just disable it for that app. Nuts though the level of tracking that's going on in our pockets all day!
What does Threads do that Mastodon doesn't? Aren't they basically just a different app for the same thing? What am I getting wrong here?
Threads automatically adds all your instagram follows so for creators they don't have to try and rebuild their audience on a new platform where as for users they don't have to find all their friends/family/and creators on a new platform, its just there. There is also the ease of signup, if you have an instagram account you just log in, if you don't it's really simple. For Mastodon there's different servers to pick and then you have to find your favorite creators again and it's another login to remember.
TLDR people are lazy so go with the option that is easiest for them
Other than GPS coordinates, what's the problem?
It's pretty standard stuff that every app collects.
I'm actually asking what specific thing is the problem.
The problem is the "why". Why does it need headphone status? Why does it need to know "music playing" status? It uses all this information to build a larger picture of the user. If the user is browsing sad memes standing in McDonalds while listening to music, there's a chance they're in a vulnerable state. So let's show them ads related to weight loss or even the opposite - something to entice them so they might feel good momentarily. That's the kind of headfuck these guys have already built using their machine learning models. So no, you should totally reject any and every app collecting this information.
BTW, "every app collects" is a bad precedent. Partly because not every app needs this information and partly because they are all selling to Google and FB and even more spurious third parties in the end.
