6 ms·

Never had Instagram. Never had WhatsApp. Had an old Facebook account opened under a fake name, using a throwaway email (haven't opened it in six months, maybe m

Never had Instagram. Never had WhatsApp. Had an old Facebook account opened under a fake name, using a throwaway email (haven't opened it in six months, maybe more). That company is cancer.

dheerajvs 3y ago
Same here. In addition, to prevent shadow profiles, I've blocked them on NextDNS, setup NetGuard[0] and Firefox with uBlock Origin on Android. [0]: https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/releases https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/releases
matheusmoreira 3y ago
I don't have that luxury. If I delete WhatsApp, I will be ostracized. Instagram is easier to live without but some people and services can only be contacted there. Mercifully Facebook is dead. I've made peace with the fact that at least WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption. I hope to god they don't enshittify it.
TaylorAlexander 3y ago
That is a good start but unfortunately my understanding is that they will still have a data profile on you specifically. This is a problem for us all and we need regulation to solve it. And we probably need campaign finance reform to get people in power willing to regulate it.
- IronWolve 3y ago
  Exactly, if your kid has an account, and she identified her mom, facebook will think her mom is your wife if at the same address. Those connections start to add up, add in they copied linkedin, your phone address books, email accounts, etc.
  - akira2501 3y ago
    To me, the answer is noise. Generate so much false data about yourself that you both overwhelm and devalue this mechanism entirely.
    - omgmajk 3y ago
      I try to do this and it _seems_ to be working okay. Facebook has not given me a correct/interesting recommendation in ages and google thinks I'm a different age and various other things that are not true when I look at their collected information.
    - chaosmonger7 3y ago
      [dead]
    - andirk 3y ago
      Cause an infinite loop CPU explodes by making data that leads to you being your own grandfather.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
leotravis10 3y ago
Even if you don't have a account, they still provide a "shadow profile" on you and it has been proven and admitted. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/11/17225482/facebook-shadow-profiles-zuckerberg-congress-data-privacy https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/11/17225482/facebook-shadow-...
- Erratic6576 3y ago
  We don't use FB, we are used by it whether we have an explicit account or not
- hughesjj 3y ago
  Do they keep a shadow profile on you if you violate their TOS? I'd assume not but that'd be a fun way to get off the proverbial list if possible
  - Swizec 3y ago
    You get a shadow profile without agreeing to a TOS. There’s nothing to violate
Cheer2171 3y ago
Let me guess: you don't have a kid that goes to a school that only posts crucial news and updates to their Facebook page and you don't have a friend group that uses a WhatsApp group to plan events. Try explaining to the average human that you have a moral objection which means you can't install the same app everyone else has, and that everyone else needs to do a lot of work to accommodate you. One of my friend groups calls me a tech vegan, and not in a good way.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- chaosmonger7 3y ago
  [dead]
- gitaarik 3y ago
  Well if they are your friends, you would expect that they will have respect for your choices. But maybe you are trying to convert them also, in a way they don't like it. So then they call you a tech vegan. I guess because vegans can be intense sometimes too. It's not easy to convince ignorant friends. The best way I found is to not try to change them, but do keep your own principles. They'll respect that, and might even become interested in why you have your principles. Then if they ask you can explain them.
- akira2501 3y ago
  My moral objections don't require other people to engage in any effort whatsoever, they require me to find alternatives. Your position seems to be that you feel bullied over your stance and you're willing to capitulate to it for the mild contrivances it offers you.
- smeej 3y ago
  So far, I've yet to be in a friend group that wasn't willing to switch to Signal once I explained my security concern. This includes my group of women who are spiritual directors in their 60s, not exactly a demographic you'd expect to care about E2EE. It's always been easy for me to come up with a circumstance under which something the people involved cared about might become so politically or socially condemned that being associated with it could have major repercussions. Maybe give that a shot next time you want a group to switch to something private.

Never had Instagram. Never had WhatsApp. Had an old Facebook account opened under a fake name, using a throwaway email (haven't opened it in six months, maybe more). That company is cancer.

dheerajvs 3y ago

Same here. In addition, to prevent shadow profiles, I've blocked them on NextDNS, setup NetGuard[0] and Firefox with uBlock Origin on Android. [0]: https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/releases https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/releases

matheusmoreira 3y ago

I don't have that luxury. If I delete WhatsApp, I will be ostracized. Instagram is easier to live without but some people and services can only be contacted there. Mercifully Facebook is dead. I've made peace with the fact that at least WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption. I hope to god they don't enshittify it.

TaylorAlexander 3y ago

That is a good start but unfortunately my understanding is that they will still have a data profile on you specifically. This is a problem for us all and we need regulation to solve it. And we probably need campaign finance reform to get people in power willing to regulate it.

IronWolve 3y ago
Exactly, if your kid has an account, and she identified her mom, facebook will think her mom is your wife if at the same address. Those connections start to add up, add in they copied linkedin, your phone address books, email accounts, etc.
- akira2501 3y ago
  To me, the answer is noise. Generate so much false data about yourself that you both overwhelm and devalue this mechanism entirely.
  - omgmajk 3y ago
    I try to do this and it _seems_ to be working okay. Facebook has not given me a correct/interesting recommendation in ages and google thinks I'm a different age and various other things that are not true when I look at their collected information.
  - chaosmonger7 3y ago
    [dead]
  - andirk 3y ago
    Cause an infinite loop CPU explodes by making data that leads to you being your own grandfather.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

leotravis10 3y ago

Even if you don't have a account, they still provide a "shadow profile" on you and it has been proven and admitted. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/11/17225482/facebook-shadow-profiles-zuckerberg-congress-data-privacy https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/11/17225482/facebook-shadow-...

Erratic6576 3y ago
We don't use FB, we are used by it whether we have an explicit account or not
hughesjj 3y ago
Do they keep a shadow profile on you if you violate their TOS? I'd assume not but that'd be a fun way to get off the proverbial list if possible
- Swizec 3y ago
  You get a shadow profile without agreeing to a TOS. There’s nothing to violate

Cheer2171 3y ago

Let me guess: you don't have a kid that goes to a school that only posts crucial news and updates to their Facebook page and you don't have a friend group that uses a WhatsApp group to plan events. Try explaining to the average human that you have a moral objection which means you can't install the same app everyone else has, and that everyone else needs to do a lot of work to accommodate you. One of my friend groups calls me a tech vegan, and not in a good way.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
chaosmonger7 3y ago
[dead]
gitaarik 3y ago
Well if they are your friends, you would expect that they will have respect for your choices. But maybe you are trying to convert them also, in a way they don't like it. So then they call you a tech vegan. I guess because vegans can be intense sometimes too. It's not easy to convince ignorant friends. The best way I found is to not try to change them, but do keep your own principles. They'll respect that, and might even become interested in why you have your principles. Then if they ask you can explain them.
akira2501 3y ago
My moral objections don't require other people to engage in any effort whatsoever, they require me to find alternatives. Your position seems to be that you feel bullied over your stance and you're willing to capitulate to it for the mild contrivances it offers you.
smeej 3y ago
So far, I've yet to be in a friend group that wasn't willing to switch to Signal once I explained my security concern. This includes my group of women who are spiritual directors in their 60s, not exactly a demographic you'd expect to care about E2EE. It's always been easy for me to come up with a circumstance under which something the people involved cared about might become so politically or socially condemned that being associated with it could have major repercussions. Maybe give that a shot next time you want a group to switch to something private.