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When you install an ad blocking browser extension, you are trading limited, specific, mostly non-personal data sharing with publishers, for complete, unrestrict

When you install an ad blocking browser extension, you are trading limited, specific, mostly non-personal data sharing with publishers, for complete, unrestricted, uncensored data sharing with extension providers. Extensions can see the entirety of every page a user visits. This includes their bank account, what they searched on google, what they searched on duck-duck-go when they didn't want their search to be recorded, what sites they are a member of, how frequently they visit those sites, at what times they visit those sites, what emails they have sent and received, what they typed in their encrypted proton-mail account, what 20 word passphrase they chose for their bitcoin wallet, what they posted anonymously on 4chan... From a pure privacy perspective, it's a huge net loss. Even if you only enable extensions on non-sensitive sites, the difference in the amount of data being given to the extension provider vs the data being restricted from the ad provider, is very large during that time.

jacquesm 11y ago
Except that those extension providers don't as a rule upload that data to their server without authorization in the form of an opt-out process.
jsjohnst 11y ago
This has been my thought too for a long time. Who's watching the watcher so to speak.
- JupiterMoon 11y ago
  Well the standard blocking software is open source, simple and controversial. Controversial open source software gets checked by lots of people and because it is simple issues would get flagged.
  - jsjohnst 11y ago
    Had you not added "simple", I'd have had a strong case in point with OpenSSL. OpenSSL has always been at least a bit controversial (i.e., breaking binary compatibility on not just a patch release aka x.y.Z, but a semantic level even lower) and issues have still gone undetected for a long time.
Spivak 11y ago
> Extensions can see the entirety of every page a user visits. This includes their bank account, what they searched on ... At this point why do you even trust your browser, or the OS it's running on both of which have access to all of that and more? I browsed through the code of uBlock and uMatrix and found nothing suspicious, it's not exactly a large code base. Sure, it's not a formal audit or anything but it's enough where I trust it. I have to trust a single piece of software whose source is totally transparent to me, compared to trusting every single ad network on every site I visit, and every agency that data is sold to, and every state that data travels to. From a privacy standpoint it's a huge net benefit as all that data the extension has access to is never recorded and doesn't leave my machine.
- thinkloop 11y ago
  >At this point why do you even trust your browser I don't trust my browser :) and do expect some major data breach of my browsing history at some point in the next 20 years - but it's worth it to be able to browse. Here people are trying to attain privacy by opening themselves up to possibly much less privacy - just want to make sure they know what they are paying.

jacquesm 11y ago

Except that those extension providers don't as a rule upload that data to their server without authorization in the form of an opt-out process.

jsjohnst 11y ago

This has been my thought too for a long time. Who's watching the watcher so to speak.

JupiterMoon 11y ago
Well the standard blocking software is open source, simple and controversial. Controversial open source software gets checked by lots of people and because it is simple issues would get flagged.
- jsjohnst 11y ago
  Had you not added "simple", I'd have had a strong case in point with OpenSSL. OpenSSL has always been at least a bit controversial (i.e., breaking binary compatibility on not just a patch release aka x.y.Z, but a semantic level even lower) and issues have still gone undetected for a long time.

Spivak 11y ago

> Extensions can see the entirety of every page a user visits. This includes their bank account, what they searched on ... At this point why do you even trust your browser, or the OS it's running on both of which have access to all of that and more? I browsed through the code of uBlock and uMatrix and found nothing suspicious, it's not exactly a large code base. Sure, it's not a formal audit or anything but it's enough where I trust it. I have to trust a single piece of software whose source is totally transparent to me, compared to trusting every single ad network on every site I visit, and every agency that data is sold to, and every state that data travels to. From a privacy standpoint it's a huge net benefit as all that data the extension has access to is never recorded and doesn't leave my machine.

thinkloop 11y ago
>At this point why do you even trust your browser I don't trust my browser :) and do expect some major data breach of my browsing history at some point in the next 20 years - but it's worth it to be able to browse. Here people are trying to attain privacy by opening themselves up to possibly much less privacy - just want to make sure they know what they are paying.