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Signal Shares the Instagram Ads Facebook Doesn't Want You to See
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I guess the biggest irony in all of this is that — the only reason signals can offer free E2E encryption chat (which is also offered by WhatsApp btw, FB does not monetize WhatsApp through ads), is because the founder Brian Acton sold WhatsApp to FB for 22billion dollars.
So at end of the day, all this is still powered by FB ad money... Some serious circle of life s**t
So at end of the day, all this is still powered by FB ad money... Some serious circle of life s**t
The most likely explanation is that you downloaded the image of the picture and that the server that served the picture to your device captured your IP address. That action alone is probably enough to link the picture to you by Facebook.I was talking with friend of mine about his new job in one of the top popular beer company, and he send me a picture of 0% beer - on Signal.
Next day I saw a few ads of that beer on Facebook.
Worth to add - I haven't google or anything like this about the beer or that company.
Ye, privacy
Instagram periodically scans your photos and uses it for ad data. That’s why I brought it upUhm... instagram? We were chatting on Signal app
but yeah that is interesting.I don’t know how exactly their algorithms or data collection works but all I do know is that after being behind the curtain of Google at my previous employment, it’s literally scary how much they know about you. Are you and your partner trying to get pregnant? They know that. Are you going to start looking for a new couch? Yeah they know that too. Past borderline creepy haha.
I searched for a few articles about Dogecoin, just because I know nothing about crypto.
I searched in the DuckDuckGo browser, using the DuckDuckGo search engine.
I’m seeing lots of ads about investing in crypto, ETFs, etc. ??♂️
I searched in the DuckDuckGo browser, using the DuckDuckGo search engine.
I’m seeing lots of ads about investing in crypto, ETFs, etc. ??♂️
If you clicked on the search links and read the articles of those links, that's likely where information were collected about you reading up on crpyto.
if you actually visited those site, then they installed cookies on your system to follow you around the web. It was not DDG.
Search for something on DDG but don't click any links, see if you get ads for that. Also you should be using adblocker, uBlock Origin for any browser, 1Blockr or AdGuard for Safari , Wipr or 1Blockr for iOS or just using Brave Browser that comes with a built in adblocker.
Have you given insta/FB access to your address book, and do you have your friend's new email in there?Uhm... instagram? We were chatting on Signal app
Sure, but the DDG browser has a “Fire” button that gets rid of all saved data.
It also blocks trackers automatically. See images below.
That, and I’m running iOS 14.5 with tracking turned off for everything.
Attachments
The information about you are likely collected at the server end, not at your computer’s end. As long as you clicked on the link and the request reaches the server, they already have some information about you, e.g. your IP and it is accessing a web page of a particular topic.
I too worked closely with G in another life (around 2010ish). And what they were capable of, and with whom they were openly collaborating, and sharing, some eleven years ago(!), was breathtaking. And not at all in a fun way. There was a particular meeting where they said "we don't talk about this publically, but..." and then proceeded to stagger those in the room with their capabilities, agenda, and perspective. The look on people's faces in that room is something I can't unsee. After walking out of that meeting, I removed every Google app from my iPhone. When I got home that eve, I removed any shred of G on the rest of my devices and I haven't installed them since. Today, I actively leverage G as little as is possible. I can't recommend ditching them, in every possible way, more. Obviously, millions of people could give two $#!%s (or are too ignorant) about their digital rights. But for those that do, heed.
I don't think they even actually tried to run the ads. One of the screenshots Signal posted literally said there were 0 rejected ads. The warning screenshot they shared was from an unrelated billing issue.
That's not really accurate... Google and Facebook use exactly the same business model of targeted advertising based on data they collect. There's really not anything Facebook does that Google doesn't do.
Sorry man Signal is a non for profit, which had huge capital, its encryption technology is used in whatsapp itself and they have no data on you track. Even your phone number is stored in encrypted form just to let other users know you've joined. Signal itself does accept donations. When the recent influx of 50 millions users happened they didn't suddenly need more money, just took them a day or two to get the service back to reliable levels.
I would love to see how they did this? I think governments can only block the use of signal possibly, not actively monitor chats if the service is usable.
As my friend puts what is the product, In world of Apple the pretty expensive product is the device you're buying and then the subscription to services that they hope you're continue subscribing to. But at the end of the day you get what you pay for. Anytime something is free we need to ask ourselves why is it free. If facebook charged everyone for the use of facebook with a monthly fee I doubt they'll make as much as they do now where the product is us. Same thing to google, Google drive, google photos and gmail. This is why I'll never use Android because you still end up being the product.
This is another reason I've started moving all my email stuff to a paid for service. Fastmail and I love it.
Very true, the startup of signal was paid for by the sale of WhatsAapp, WhatsApp's encryption actually uses the same signal encryption. Its the other stuff WhatsApp is collecting and that will be shared with Facebook that has me worried. Signal for the win.I guess the biggest irony in all of this is that — the only reason signals can offer free E2E encryption chat (which is also offered by WhatsApp btw, FB does not monetize WhatsApp through ads), is because the founder Brian Acton sold WhatsApp to FB for 22billion dollars.
So at end of the day, all this is still powered by FB ad money... Some serious circle of life s**t
Correct. As the proverb goes, “If you sit in on a poker game and don’t see a sucker, get up. You’re the sucker.”
And as Tim Cook said, “I think everyone has a right to ask, how do companies make their money? Follow the money.” Anyone think Facebook and Gmail are free? Don't worry, you’re paying. You just don't realize how. Apple makes their billions selling products and services, not you. Anyone who doesn't see that is either pointing out false equivalencies, has some sort of Apple grudge, or has the monogram MEZ.
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are you seeing those ads in the DDG browser or in other apps?
its no use if you were browsing signed in a Google account or FB account, as you browse the internet logged in the tracking data is saved to your account not your local device. If you login again they will serve the ads again.
This is a known thing that happens with android phones. Facebook has an agent listening for keywords that can be monetized. Some will say it's not true but the evidence is overwhelming. Expect this to be the next big facebook scandal.
You can test the microphone thing yourself for 100% proof but it only works on android, not ios.
1. Make sure you do not have the microphone disabled in settings.
2. Open the facebook app, then close it.
3. Put the phone down, then have a "fake" conversation about something you have never talked about before but is very specific and "monetizable", like a product or vacation.
4. Open the facebook app again (it's possible the data is cached and requires the app to be open to upload).
Within the next hour or day, you will most likely see an ad related to what you talked about. Keep in mind, it's competing with other ads so it may not show up soon, but having you talking about it increases the bid rate substantially.