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So we should give our browsing history to a random company in the name of protection?

okanat 2y ago
uBlock origin + Firefox exists or open source Rethink VPN project funded by Mozilla or open source AdAway app in Android.
- sp332 2y ago
  Can't use uBlock on iPhone. And what if I'm already on a VPN?
  - bee_rider 2y ago
    For this article, there don’t seem to be many ads on iOS anyway.
    - hedora 2y ago
      I don’t see any ads on this article with ublock origin and privacy badger disabled (maybe the safari system-wide ad blocker gets them?) but I use the orion browser by kagi on iOS. It supports firefox and chrome extensions.
      - bee_rider 2y ago
        Yeah, I should have been more clear; I’m using Safari with, I’m pretty sure, the system level Adblock enabled. But that’s more or less the default on iOS I think.
Brian_K_White 2y ago
What random company? There is no such danger unless your idea of an ad blocker is pretty different from mine. In the case of browser plugins (there are other forms of ad blocker but let's just pick the riskiest for the sake of argument), the only one to consider is ublock origin, written by the famously intractably principled Raymond Gorhill, and open source on top anyway. That also means Firefox because Chrome & Edge kneecapped the ability of any plugins to do the job. And on mobile that means Android because Apple doesn't allow any other browser engine than Safari on IOS, even Firefox is just a wrapper. If you can't or won't use a browser & platform that allows you control over your life, you are giving a lot more than merely your browsing history to a non-random company, namely Apple or Google or Microsoft. It's totally backwards or upside down to worry about the danger of an ad blocker in that context. It's like being in a cage and believing the jailors warnings not to trust any shady subversive characters that may come along and offer you keys or a lesson on lockpicking. All that said, the existense of ad blockers is really beside the point. The fact that it's not only possible but advisable for each user to employ tools like ad blockers to control their own life instead of just having to take whatever crap every random web site shoves at you, does not change the fact that the web site is shoving crap at you and it would be better if it didn't, and web sites that don't shove crap at you are better than ones that do. The charge that the site sucks is valid even though effective ad blockers exist to hide the suck on your end.

uBlock origin + Firefox exists or open source Rethink VPN project funded by Mozilla or open source AdAway app in Android.

sp332 2y ago
Can't use uBlock on iPhone. And what if I'm already on a VPN?
- bee_rider 2y ago
  For this article, there don’t seem to be many ads on iOS anyway.
  - hedora 2y ago
    I don’t see any ads on this article with ublock origin and privacy badger disabled (maybe the safari system-wide ad blocker gets them?) but I use the orion browser by kagi on iOS. It supports firefox and chrome extensions.
    - bee_rider 2y ago
      Yeah, I should have been more clear; I’m using Safari with, I’m pretty sure, the system level Adblock enabled. But that’s more or less the default on iOS I think.

Brian_K_White 2y ago

What random company? There is no such danger unless your idea of an ad blocker is pretty different from mine. In the case of browser plugins (there are other forms of ad blocker but let's just pick the riskiest for the sake of argument), the only one to consider is ublock origin, written by the famously intractably principled Raymond Gorhill, and open source on top anyway. That also means Firefox because Chrome & Edge kneecapped the ability of any plugins to do the job. And on mobile that means Android because Apple doesn't allow any other browser engine than Safari on IOS, even Firefox is just a wrapper. If you can't or won't use a browser & platform that allows you control over your life, you are giving a lot more than merely your browsing history to a non-random company, namely Apple or Google or Microsoft. It's totally backwards or upside down to worry about the danger of an ad blocker in that context. It's like being in a cage and believing the jailors warnings not to trust any shady subversive characters that may come along and offer you keys or a lesson on lockpicking. All that said, the existense of ad blockers is really beside the point. The fact that it's not only possible but advisable for each user to employ tools like ad blockers to control their own life instead of just having to take whatever crap every random web site shoves at you, does not change the fact that the web site is shoving crap at you and it would be better if it didn't, and web sites that don't shove crap at you are better than ones that do. The charge that the site sucks is valid even though effective ad blockers exist to hide the suck on your end.