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Disclaimer: I work for Ghostery. I respond to protect my own name, not my employer. Ghostery is not selling user data. Let me point out a few facts: All brow

by chrmod 5y ago

Disclaimer: I work for Ghostery. I respond to protect my own name, not my employer. Ghostery is not selling user data. Let me point out a few facts: All browser-side code is open source https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension and https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-dnr-extension https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-dnr-extension. Yes, Ghostery has a subscription based business model and that another reason to great care in protecting users privacy. Take a look on how we use blind tokens to authenticate subscribed users while searching on glowstery.com https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-search-extension https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-search-extension (notice that even when you are a subscribed user there is no session cookie so queries cannot be linked). Hope this sheds some light on the accusation. If that’s not enough, I do sincerely recommend uBlock Origin or AdGuard on Apple’s platform.

bmn__ 5y ago
> Let me point out a few facts: Ohhhh, let me too! "Ghostery makes money by tracking the trackers while blocking them and selling data about third party trackers, which it calls Ghostrank." "Ghostery calls it Consumer Messaging Platform, which allows the company to message users directly in the web browser. According to Ghostery, it will be used for product announcements and promotions. What makes this problematic is that it is enabled by default." You aren't fooling anyone.
freediver 5y ago
> All browser-side code is open source Indirectly relevant - It is not the client source code that is ever the issue. It is the server side code and the business model that matters. Client can be even closed source, if it is zero-telemetry. There is no danger for user privacy there. But if the client is not zero-telemetry, and is phoning home, at the very least private information like IP address will be transferred and we have no way of knowing what is done with it. The original post talks exactly about the problem with dependency on the server side which for a browser (and an ad blocker for that matter ) should ideally be zero with the option to opt-in for things like updates.

by chrmod 5y ago

bmn__ 5y ago

> Let me point out a few facts: Ohhhh, let me too! "Ghostery makes money by tracking the trackers while blocking them and selling data about third party trackers, which it calls Ghostrank." "Ghostery calls it Consumer Messaging Platform, which allows the company to message users directly in the web browser. According to Ghostery, it will be used for product announcements and promotions. What makes this problematic is that it is enabled by default." You aren't fooling anyone.

freediver 5y ago

> All browser-side code is open source Indirectly relevant - It is not the client source code that is ever the issue. It is the server side code and the business model that matters. Client can be even closed source, if it is zero-telemetry. There is no danger for user privacy there. But if the client is not zero-telemetry, and is phoning home, at the very least private information like IP address will be transferred and we have no way of knowing what is done with it. The original post talks exactly about the problem with dependency on the server side which for a browser (and an ad blocker for that matter ) should ideally be zero with the option to opt-in for things like updates.