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steve2470

(37,468 posts) Wed Mar 28, 2018, 03:43 AM Mar 2018

Fed up with Facebook data slurping? Firefox has a cunning plan

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/03/28/firefox_thinks_inside_the_box_for_facebook/

Sensing an opportunity in Facebook's squandering of public trust through its previously unrestrained giveaway of user data, Mozilla on Tuesday unveiled a defense against the social ad biz in the form of an add-on for Firefox called Facebook Container.

The Firefox add-on, as its name suggests, attempts to contain Facebook's tracking attempts, in an effort to provide refuge from the internet advertising panopticon.

Along similar lines, Mozilla last week said it would stop advertising on Facebook in an effort to encourage CEO Mark Zuckerberg to improve Facebook privacy settings. It also said it plans to implement a basic ad filter in Firefox later this year.

Mozilla began developing Containers for Firefox in 2016 and started deploying them last year. The technology provides a way to create contexts (tabs) in which browser-based data – cookies, indexedDB, localStorage, and cache – can be sandboxed.

8 replies

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Fed up with Facebook data slurping? Firefox has a cunning plan (Original Post) steve2470 Mar 2018 OP

Have the browser go to random sites continuously. Make a needlestack Freelancer Mar 2018 #1

What should happen duforsure Mar 2018 #2

I wonder if people would actually pay, say, $1 or $2 a month for "no spying" Facebook ? steve2470 Mar 2018 #3

Possibly Chico Man Mar 2018 #4

Data slurping is the FB business model Chico Man Mar 2018 #5

Firefox + this add-on good solution Mike Niendorff Mar 2018 #6

I just downloaded it... Historic NY Mar 2018 #8

Didn't social media plugin blockers work? BadgerKid Mar 2018 #7

Freelancer

(2,107 posts)

1. Have the browser go to random sites continuously. Make a needlestack

Reply to steve2470 (Original post)

Wed Mar 28, 2018, 04:07 AM

Mar 2018

They want our data. I say give it to them. Pour a river of useless data down their throats.

What we need is a browser that, in the background, generates a random trail of sites and stays there for random intervals of time. That would force facebook to determine which sites were gone to intentionally as opposed to the ones your browser visited randomly.

duforsure

(11,885 posts)

2. What should happen

Reply to steve2470 (Original post)

Wed Mar 28, 2018, 05:02 AM

Mar 2018

Another company will start up a more secure type of program to use other than Facebook, and that will vow to not allow data shopping or advertising by those for illegal purposes . Facebook's fall will be coming soon after they're exposed more.

steve2470

(37,468 posts)

3. I wonder if people would actually pay, say, $1 or $2 a month for "no spying" Facebook ?

Reply to steve2470 (Original post)

Wed Mar 28, 2018, 05:11 AM

Mar 2018

I know a lot of people would not, but as they say, if it's free, YOU'RE the product. At least with paying a small fee, you could be assured (hopefully) of no privacy violations.

Chico Man

(3,001 posts)

4. Possibly

Reply to steve2470 (Reply #3)

Wed Mar 28, 2018, 05:31 AM

Mar 2018

Plenty of folks pay for Spotify, Netflix, private GitHub, cloud data / photo storage, Amazon Prime, etc etc. I don’t think it will ever be as ubiquitous as FB was as it’s prime. In general, I think FB is going out of fashion.

Chico Man

(3,001 posts)

5. Data slurping is the FB business model

Reply to steve2470 (Original post)

Wed Mar 28, 2018, 05:36 AM

Mar 2018

Every user agrees to it when they sign up. It’s not some kind of public utility. I think it’s dying a slow death as the novelty of rabid social media fades away.

Mike Niendorff

(3,549 posts)

6. Firefox + this add-on good solution

Reply to steve2470 (Original post)

Wed Mar 28, 2018, 06:00 AM

Mar 2018

I am using Firefox with this add-on right now.

It's simple and works great. And if you want greater web privacy, there is a broader version also available (which I am also using, because it's a really good solution).

Recommended.

MDN

Historic NY

(37,874 posts)

8. I just downloaded it...

Reply to Mike Niendorff (Reply #6)

Wed Mar 28, 2018, 07:27 AM

Mar 2018

BadgerKid

(4,677 posts)

7. Didn't social media plugin blockers work?

Reply to steve2470 (Original post)

Wed Mar 28, 2018, 06:01 AM

Mar 2018

It was said FB was profiling people using the presence of Like buttons on web pages. You didn't need to be logged in to FB. Those plugins were supposedly "hiding" those button so you couldn't be tracked.

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