Out of all the sites I browse, MacRumors is the absolute worst when it comes to trackers! Even political and porn sites don't compete!
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MacRumors, I'm disappointed...
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Out of all the sites I browse, MacRumors is the absolute worst when it comes to trackers! Even political and porn sites don't compete!
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Unfortunely this is how websites make money now. So many websites have Facebook trackers embedded in them. I've given up this battle. One thing I do is use a separate browser for my stuff that has personal information like banking, paying bills, medical, etc. Maybe that gives me a little extra security but IDK
A free, long-standing rumour site with a bustling reader community has to make its money somehow, I appreciate that. Users have plenty of options – use a different site for Apple news (there's no shortage), always use a Private Browsing window for MacRumors forum stuff (imperfect but helpful).
I'm not sure how many people even know this, but MacRumors provides a bunch of free RSS feeds: all the articles, clean and tidy and lightweight, without any of the embedded tracking or clutter. It's pretty excellent, and considering MacRumors does have upkeep, I'm surprised they offer it, but I'll gladly take it.
I'm not sure how many people even know this, but MacRumors provides a bunch of free RSS feeds: all the articles, clean and tidy and lightweight, without any of the embedded tracking or clutter. It's pretty excellent, and considering MacRumors does have upkeep, I'm surprised they offer it, but I'll gladly take it.
Yeah I get that, but MacRumors is literally the worst out of every site I visit, and by more than double. Even P0rnHub, which hosts as much free porn as you could ever possibly want, only has 2 trackers. Even Imgur, which is one of the most popular free image hosting site on the internet, hosting a CRAZY amount of images, gifs, etc from all over the entire internet - has 11 trackers. Yelp has 3, Reddit has 7, IMDB has 5, Etsy has 8, ESPN has 9, CNN has 31, Fox News has 28, Huffington Post has 19, Zillow has 15, etc etc.
MacRumors has...86.
Sometimes I think this needs to be said, but perhaps you should leave Macrumors if it distresses you this much, where you could frequent other tech sites that have less ‘tracking’. I just find it interesting that you’re so concerned with tracking, yet you’ve made two focal points in separate posts about ‘porn sites’ that could contain malicious content. Just sayin.’
I find it incredibly odd that some people simply don't give a hoot about their every move being tracked. Like, privacy means absolutely nothing to them, "sure watch everything I do!". I made focal points about porn sites because first, they are incredibly popular (far more popular than MacRumors), and second, they are free. Porn stars have to get paid somehow right? Yet the number of trackers they have absolutely pales in comparison to this somewhat niche site.
Luckily Safari blocks all of this, so it's not so much "distress" as it is "amazement". I find it amazing that MacRumors has more than double the number of trackers than literally any other site I can find on the entire internet. Furthermore, I'm a very infrequent visitor. I've had an account for years and years and have probably less than 100 comments and way fewer submissions, I'm very infrequent.
I think you’re being overly pedantic, and your ‘porn comments’ just seem kind of contradictory to your points addressed, meaning you’re concerned about ‘privacy’, yet you’re advocating that porn sites are ‘incredibly popular’, but yet, can contain malicious content with the intent to infiltrate and abduct your personal information.
I’m not concerned with Macrumors, I value my privacy and I have restrictions in place that are preventative. Like I said, if it distresses you this much and you feel the need to create a thread over it, (which is your prerogative), then maybe this website is not for you.
It looks like you are basing your comment on the information provided by Safari.
Mine also shows macrumors.com with a high number of trackers, in fact more than you are being (113 vs 83). I suspect that is also a function of how much time you are viewing the website compared to others, over the past 30 days?
And as you mention, they are being blocked by Safari anyway, which by the way is a terrific benefit from the latest Safari update.
Mine also shows macrumors.com with a high number of trackers, in fact more than you are being (113 vs 83). I suspect that is also a function of how much time you are viewing the website compared to others, over the past 30 days?
And as you mention, they are being blocked by Safari anyway, which by the way is a terrific benefit from the latest Safari update.
I have no idea how you can construe my comment as being contradictory. Also I said it's not as much distress as it is amazement. I think you aren't even reading my comments (or understanding them), so in that case take it easy.
You advocated multiple times you’re concerned about about ‘privacy’, yet you addressed porn sites multiple times having ‘less tracking’, and that doesn’t somehow concern you with privacy with malicious activity that contains tools to infiltrate? (Which I think it’s safe to assume you frequent those types of sites, being your aware of the ad tracking). Tell me how that’s not contradictory when your personal information is far more vulnerable on sites like that compared to a ‘tech site’ over ad tracking. Your interpretation of privacy is skewed and contradictory, that’s what I’m saying.
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How is my personal information more vulnerable on sites like that when sites like this have 40X more trackers?
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I think his point was that this site has more trackers than a porn site. But that is a far more likely place to worry about than MacRumors for about 1,000 reasons. Also, supporting ******* or any porn site is disgusting. Case in point: https://traffickinghub.com/
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I’ve posted this before so I’ll just copy paste. But tldr: you can subscribe to the site.
It must be cumulative if it comes in at 18 to 27 on any given page load, and the total is 55.
I addressed this before but do want to clarify how these 3rd party trackers seem to work, and what our part in it is all.
We use the following services that may "track" you:
- Google Analytics + other analytics services. This lets us know how many people are visiting the site, and which pages are popular. Whether this is your first visit or your 100th.
- Adthrive - an ad network which handles our ads. Ad serving can be very complicated. It works on a real-time bidding system where whenever a page loads, it triggers a real time auction where multiple ad providers decide which ads to put on the page based on who is loading it. This includes if you've seen the ad before, if they think you like XYZ, etc... This is where all the 3rd party trackers come in -- deciding which ad you get. We don't personally contract with 55 different companies -- we don't have the staff for that. The ad network mediates all that.
So we don't pick which "trackers" are involved, similarly to how we don't decide which individual ads that gets shown on the site. It's part of the auction system. And I presume different ad providers get pulled in over time -- which is why it adds up to 55 over time.
Our options to reduce the number of trackers include:
1. Change ad networks - though most work the same way
2. Sell all ads directly ourselves - which requires more manpower and expertise than we have at the moment
3. Don't use ads and charge users $$
For #3, we do offer a paid upgrade for $25/year that removes all ads, which will subsequently remove all ads and ad-based trackers. (our analytics software will remain).
We are looking into pushing the paid membership model more, but there's a lot of details involved in doing that well, so we have been slow about it.
arn
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"But," therefore what? Therefore you're still disappointed? I wasn't telling you not to be, and I think we've thus explored the entire potential of this conversation.
(Nice of the staff to show up with their outlook.)
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TLDR;
All in all - while I don't question the validity of the thoughts and comment of the original poster of the thread - I also think that it's not that big of a deal. I'd rather have the ability to keep in touch with people throughout the years than giving up on MacRumors and going elsewhere. Most Mac-centric sites that I know of doesn't have a forum as such?
In the olden days there wasn't a topic that didn't have a BBboard(?) A forum. Much like Neowin's - but every site had one. 9to5 has a comment field based on Disqus? only. ahh, It's too much text already.. I concede.
On topic while being a little off topic - there is not right answer days the pocket philosopher in me:
I have a very silly standpoint about tracking me - I admit to writing outrageous things sometimes on Facebook and Twitter and if the NSA, CIA or FBI or the danish PET(since I'm a Dane living in Daneland) I welcome a call from their representative. I'm quite lonely and if a tracker on MacRumors has been tracking my whereabouts elsewhere ; all the power to them. Be my guest.
I have about 40 years left if I'm lucky and spending the remainder 10 years, let's say, in a prison for having said something about whomever or whatever without enticing violence, because I don't have a violent bone in my body.
I catch flies and domestic spiders in a tall glass -- a postcard or the like underneath and out the door they go.I can't prove this however.
Prison is good here in Denmark - I'm thinking 3 meals a day in an open prison with Xbox and TV channel access with comfy couches and chairs at the ready for those times when you just need to relax after a day's hard work - in prison.
This all comes from a person who's deleted -insert noun here- (hint: his) Facebook and Twitter account more times in the past year than I think in all previous years because I was worried about being attacked at my home or in the street by a group of thugs.
All in all - while I don't question the validity of the thoughts and comment of the original poster of the thread - I also think that it's not that big of a deal. I'd rather have the ability to keep in touch with people throughout the years than giving up on MacRumors and going elsewhere. Most Mac-centric sites that I know of doesn't have a forum as such?
In the olden days there wasn't a topic that didn't have a BBboard(?) A forum. Much like Neowin's - but every site had one. 9to5 has a comment field based on Disqus? only. ahh, It's too much text already.. I concede.
On topic while being a little off topic - there is not right answer days the pocket philosopher in me:
I have a very silly standpoint about tracking me - I admit to writing outrageous things sometimes on Facebook and Twitter and if the NSA, CIA or FBI or the danish PET(since I'm a Dane living in Daneland) I welcome a call from their representative. I'm quite lonely and if a tracker on MacRumors has been tracking my whereabouts elsewhere ; all the power to them. Be my guest.
I have about 40 years left if I'm lucky and spending the remainder 10 years, let's say, in a prison for having said something about whomever or whatever without enticing violence, because I don't have a violent bone in my body.
I catch flies and domestic spiders in a tall glass -- a postcard or the like underneath and out the door they go.I can't prove this however.
Prison is good here in Denmark - I'm thinking 3 meals a day in an open prison with Xbox and TV channel access with comfy couches and chairs at the ready for those times when you just need to relax after a day's hard work - in prison.
This all comes from a person who's deleted -insert noun here- (hint: his) Facebook and Twitter account more times in the past year than I think in all previous years because I was worried about being attacked at my home or in the street by a group of thugs.
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With all the great info I've received from this site over the years I've been a member, the $25/year subscription (contribution) is well worth it. I highly recommend supporting this site with your $ if you can.
Indeed. I doubt one will find the information gained here on any other site, with as nice as the folks here.
Here also. I keep Safari clean and only use it for financial, personal and actual ordering online. Firefox I use for all else and it is loaded with every blocker I can find. That being said, I always (almost) turn off the blockers for a legitimate or favorite site, and usually also if I get a popup politely asking me to. One of the sites that I go back and forth on is Ars Technicia - at times I have seen them load over 90 "trackers" in one page. Blocking them makes a gigantic difference in load times - or did, back when I was on satellite.
Really really baddies, like Google and Facebook, I block in the hosts file.
Latest Safari has this ability as well - is it inferior to Firefox?
I also have multiple browsers on my iMac - Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Brave browsers, for different uses.
Safari since version 12.0 (Maybe 13.0 IDK) stops ad blockers from working properly. I mean Google pays Apple nine billion dollars every year so hmmm. I love Apple but anyone can be bought for enough money.
Definitely not, it is great, but I need two browser sessions. One without blocks so my banking and financial connections don't choke, and another for general surfing. Safari has to be one or the other, and since Firefox is easier to hook in add-ons without worry of Apple disagreeing, I chose to use FF with the blockers.