4 ms·

If as a user, these types of things anger you, please just stop using the product. These practices will continue to get worse as long as users put up with it.

by ve55 9y ago

jacquesm 9y ago
Then you might as well stop using your smartphone and all 3rd party apps on it. The vast majority contain SDKs which tattle your whereabouts, contacts and other interesting tidbits to advertising networks.
- ruslan_talpa 9y ago
  Or, you might as well start paying for the apps you use (like more than $1) :) The vast majority of FREE 3rd party apps have tracking SDK, that is an important distinction. I mean really, what did you expect, the developers of those apps giving them for free in exchange for nothing? (the fact that they hide this is another discussion)
  - shostack 9y ago
    Serious question... Is there any data on usage of tracking for paid vs free apps? There are plenty of cookie onboarding vendors who will pay a monthly recurring CPM rate for mobile logins that they can match against and they do not require you to show ads. So if the majority of users are not privacy aware and would just accept whatever permissions are requested, what is the disincentive for a paid app to include these trackers and add a recurring revenue stream?
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      None, and quite a few do.
      - shostack 9y ago
        I know, but do you happen to have any data to reference that actually breaks down the % who do vs. those who don't? Obviously that would be messy data, but I'm genuinely curious as to what the adoption rate is for those sorts of things. I actually don't know much about mobile app traffic analysis, so I'm not sure how easy that is to sniff.
  - 0x4a42 9y ago
    Nowadays, even middle-end, high-end apps that cost hundred of $, will track you anytime you do something with them (ie: Autodesk, Adobe...).
- Silhouette 9y ago
  Then you might as well stop using your smartphone and all 3rd party apps on it. ...Is probably the right answer. Unfortunately, if you want a phone that actually works these days, you're basically stuck with iOS or Android devices, and all the junk that implies. If I could buy a modern dumbphone that just works as a phone, with decent components so it has good reception and reliability, and ignore the whole smartphone fiasco altogether, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
  - AndrewCHM 9y ago
    You can buy a phone like that, they are usually advertised for rural use edit: or you can make one http://zerophone.org/ http://zerophone.org/ which also has plans to crowdfund some pre-built phones
    - Silhouette 9y ago
      I'd love to, but as someone who has spent a lot of time looking recently, it's certainly not easy to find anything suitable here in the UK. You can get dumbphones, but getting a good dumbphone, with reliable reception and decent battery life, is a different question altogether. If you want anything at all beyond basic features, like say a dual SIM option for use when travelling, you're straight into high-end smartphone territory, even if you actually have no interest in the so-called smart parts of the device.
      - icebraining 9y ago
        My $20 Wiko Lubi has dual SIM. Never had problems with its reception or battery life, either. Audio quality, on the other hand...
      - userbinator 9y ago
        Dual (or even triple, and I've seen 4 and 5 too) SIMs is pretty much standard on phones, dumb or smart, intended for the Asia market, mostly produced by various small companies based on the standard Mediatek platform, but you can buy those online.
  - 9y ago
- ryanwaggoner 9y ago
  Would love a source for the "vast majority" part. I doubt hardly any of the apps I use on a regular basis do this, assuming I even give them those permissions.
  - willstrafach 9y ago
    It is a cynical opinion often repeated, but is not true. Many apps use analytics but limit it to data such as crash information and device hardware / OS version. There are absolutely other apps which perform tracking similar to AccuWeather, but not many (on iOS anyway).
- brownbat 9y ago
  Or just use cyanogen privacy guard to send random fake data.
rasz 9y ago
Worried about car accidents? never leave a house, cant be easier than that! The answer is regulation and heavy fines.

If as a user, these types of things anger you, please just stop using the product. These practices will continue to get worse as long as users put up with it.

by ve55 9y ago

If as a user, these types of things anger you, please just stop using the product. These practices will continue to get worse as long as users put up with it.

jacquesm 9y ago

Then you might as well stop using your smartphone and all 3rd party apps on it. The vast majority contain SDKs which tattle your whereabouts, contacts and other interesting tidbits to advertising networks.

ruslan_talpa 9y ago
Or, you might as well start paying for the apps you use (like more than $1) :) The vast majority of FREE 3rd party apps have tracking SDK, that is an important distinction. I mean really, what did you expect, the developers of those apps giving them for free in exchange for nothing? (the fact that they hide this is another discussion)
- shostack 9y ago
  Serious question... Is there any data on usage of tracking for paid vs free apps? There are plenty of cookie onboarding vendors who will pay a monthly recurring CPM rate for mobile logins that they can match against and they do not require you to show ads. So if the majority of users are not privacy aware and would just accept whatever permissions are requested, what is the disincentive for a paid app to include these trackers and add a recurring revenue stream?
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    None, and quite a few do.
    - shostack 9y ago
      I know, but do you happen to have any data to reference that actually breaks down the % who do vs. those who don't? Obviously that would be messy data, but I'm genuinely curious as to what the adoption rate is for those sorts of things. I actually don't know much about mobile app traffic analysis, so I'm not sure how easy that is to sniff.
- 0x4a42 9y ago
  Nowadays, even middle-end, high-end apps that cost hundred of $, will track you anytime you do something with them (ie: Autodesk, Adobe...).
Silhouette 9y ago
Then you might as well stop using your smartphone and all 3rd party apps on it. ...Is probably the right answer. Unfortunately, if you want a phone that actually works these days, you're basically stuck with iOS or Android devices, and all the junk that implies. If I could buy a modern dumbphone that just works as a phone, with decent components so it has good reception and reliability, and ignore the whole smartphone fiasco altogether, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
- AndrewCHM 9y ago
  You can buy a phone like that, they are usually advertised for rural use edit: or you can make one http://zerophone.org/ http://zerophone.org/ which also has plans to crowdfund some pre-built phones
  - Silhouette 9y ago
    I'd love to, but as someone who has spent a lot of time looking recently, it's certainly not easy to find anything suitable here in the UK. You can get dumbphones, but getting a good dumbphone, with reliable reception and decent battery life, is a different question altogether. If you want anything at all beyond basic features, like say a dual SIM option for use when travelling, you're straight into high-end smartphone territory, even if you actually have no interest in the so-called smart parts of the device.
    - icebraining 9y ago
      My $20 Wiko Lubi has dual SIM. Never had problems with its reception or battery life, either. Audio quality, on the other hand...
    - userbinator 9y ago
      Dual (or even triple, and I've seen 4 and 5 too) SIMs is pretty much standard on phones, dumb or smart, intended for the Asia market, mostly produced by various small companies based on the standard Mediatek platform, but you can buy those online.
- 9y ago
ryanwaggoner 9y ago
Would love a source for the "vast majority" part. I doubt hardly any of the apps I use on a regular basis do this, assuming I even give them those permissions.
- willstrafach 9y ago
  It is a cynical opinion often repeated, but is not true. Many apps use analytics but limit it to data such as crash information and device hardware / OS version. There are absolutely other apps which perform tracking similar to AccuWeather, but not many (on iOS anyway).
brownbat 9y ago
Or just use cyanogen privacy guard to send random fake data.

rasz 9y ago

Worried about car accidents? never leave a house, cant be easier than that! The answer is regulation and heavy fines.