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This is interesting. I can see how it could have legitimate uses to get around bad inplementations with stating what capabilities are possible. However that be

by kjrose 6y ago

This is interesting. I can see how it could have legitimate uses to get around bad inplementations with stating what capabilities are possible. However that being said it's like fingerprinting to sort out what their system really has. Still an abuse of the system.

nerdponx 6y ago
As per my sibling (cousin?) comment, pretty much any legitimate capability-determining data can be used for fingerprinting. This can only be solved with legislation, IMO. There is no way for an industry to self-regulate something like this, the candy bowl too big and the candy too sweet.
- throwawgler87 6y ago
  To make fingerprinting illegal, you mean? Or were you thinking of some other way to solve the problem with regulation?
  - nerdponx 6y ago
    More like (the spirit of) GDPR, where data collection itself becomes a legal and financial liability to point where it's not worth it to collect and retain it for a typical entity.
- difosfor 6y ago
  Yeah, I think the world would be better off without ads altogether. Just allow people to search for what they need or want by themselves, that's enough.
  - nine_k 6y ago
    ...and pay out of pocket for the use of a search engine? Why, well, I'd do that; e.g. neeva.com is accepting sign-ups. Also, ads without personal targeting, much like dead-trees newspaper / magazine ads, could still work and prop up certain web publishers.
    - tjpnz 6y ago
      >...and pay out of pocket for the use of a search engine? That's the only way service providers will see a cent from me going forward. Ads present not only a privacy risk but they're increasingly becoming a security risk too. I will not allow them on any of the devices I own or that connect to my home WiFi.
      - nine_k 6y ago
        I think that static ads served from the first-party CDN are security-wise no worse that the content itself. Blocking scripts and requests by third-party ad networks makes complete sense from security perspective, though. Affiliate links going directly to relevant item pages in a store are fine by me, too. They have to be relevant for anyone to click on them, they don't play video or make sound, etc. They do give some tracking opportunity, but without third-party cookies and third-party requests, it's hard to achieve anything resembling the privacy-invading precise tracking which current ad networks routinely do. In any case, I much more prefer the absence of AWS and an honest donation button.
slashink 6y ago
That's a fair take. In a sense it's is a "fingerprinting" method although I personally think fingerprinting embodies using this data to track devices between contexts. If you're interested why this data was exposed in the first place, the MDN docs has good info https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WEBGL_debug_renderer_info https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WEBGL_debug... . "Generally, the graphics driver information should only be used in edge cases to optimize your WebGL content or to debug GPU problems." Sadly that's the reality of some of these tools. The intent was good and in many cases they are a necessity to create a web experience that works on every device. On the flip side this allows people to use this data to fingerprint.

by kjrose 6y ago

nerdponx 6y ago

As per my sibling (cousin?) comment, pretty much any legitimate capability-determining data can be used for fingerprinting. This can only be solved with legislation, IMO. There is no way for an industry to self-regulate something like this, the candy bowl too big and the candy too sweet.

throwawgler87 6y ago
To make fingerprinting illegal, you mean? Or were you thinking of some other way to solve the problem with regulation?
- nerdponx 6y ago
  More like (the spirit of) GDPR, where data collection itself becomes a legal and financial liability to point where it's not worth it to collect and retain it for a typical entity.
difosfor 6y ago
Yeah, I think the world would be better off without ads altogether. Just allow people to search for what they need or want by themselves, that's enough.
- nine_k 6y ago
  ...and pay out of pocket for the use of a search engine? Why, well, I'd do that; e.g. neeva.com is accepting sign-ups. Also, ads without personal targeting, much like dead-trees newspaper / magazine ads, could still work and prop up certain web publishers.
  - tjpnz 6y ago
    >...and pay out of pocket for the use of a search engine? That's the only way service providers will see a cent from me going forward. Ads present not only a privacy risk but they're increasingly becoming a security risk too. I will not allow them on any of the devices I own or that connect to my home WiFi.
    - nine_k 6y ago
      I think that static ads served from the first-party CDN are security-wise no worse that the content itself. Blocking scripts and requests by third-party ad networks makes complete sense from security perspective, though. Affiliate links going directly to relevant item pages in a store are fine by me, too. They have to be relevant for anyone to click on them, they don't play video or make sound, etc. They do give some tracking opportunity, but without third-party cookies and third-party requests, it's hard to achieve anything resembling the privacy-invading precise tracking which current ad networks routinely do. In any case, I much more prefer the absence of AWS and an honest donation button.

slashink 6y ago

That's a fair take. In a sense it's is a "fingerprinting" method although I personally think fingerprinting embodies using this data to track devices between contexts. If you're interested why this data was exposed in the first place, the MDN docs has good info https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WEBGL_debug_renderer_info https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WEBGL_debug... . "Generally, the graphics driver information should only be used in edge cases to optimize your WebGL content or to debug GPU problems." Sadly that's the reality of some of these tools. The intent was good and in many cases they are a necessity to create a web experience that works on every device. On the flip side this allows people to use this data to fingerprint.