haha yeah that’s stopping them
Heh, nice. Now do American corporations.
Haha I never downloaded chrome.
Now google spies on me only through maps, youtube, email, my friends’ email, and android. Also chromebooks if I am a highschooler.
Last one is compulsory. You can’t deny using google products if you wanna graduate child.
Your turn, Captain Noposts!
tankies devestated
No wörries I still had a Huawei for several years and still use the Huawei health app.
So I’m pretty sure China could — if they had any interest in — know literally my very heartbeat.
Health apps scare me. Idfc where it’s from.
Like on a meta level maybe, but why do you think China or anyone else cares about something like your heart rate or workout habits?
it can be used to extend your profile based on exactly those. then that profile can be used to sell you sports equipment and drugs (in the pharmacy sense).
the information about when and where do you work out can also be used to learn other things, employment status and schedule, how often it varies, when you are on holiday or sick leave. who you may have met while exercising. if you pay for a gym and how expensive that place is that you were willing to pay. who knows what else.
I’m ideologically against, but personally, I’m not bothered. Like I do not believe in the bullshit “nothing to hide nothing to fear” rhetoric, I’m very much against it.
But like personally, I’m not really bothered if they know when I have a wank, tbh.
I am worried with what they do with all the data they have, I just don’t think anyone is interested in me personally and if they were, I’d kinda take it as a compliment tbh.
I am worried with what they do with all the data they have, I just don’t think anyone is interested in me personally and if they were, I’d kinda take it as a compliment tbh.
nobody is interested personally. it is all computers, algorithms, advertisers, possibly hackers, and never to be deleted data troves. nobody is interested in you, but lots of companies are interested in who can they milk for a penny more in any way possible, even if through deception and harm
🤢
It’s kinda dissapointing that the world is going from “we should care about our data or privacy” to “why/what’s the point”.
Giving up on this also means privacy focused software is going to become more and more “not worth the effort” for devs.
Huge win for everyone who wants to manipulate you
Never used TikTok, but I’m not going to pretend that China (and pretty much every other government if it wants it) doesn’t have access to my data, there isn’t much I can do about it at this point.
EDIT: they do* have it, I’m just sleep deprived
If you even have a phone then Google, the phone’s manufacturer, your ISP, the NSA and their respective governments already know everything about you.
My ISP doesn’t even know I’m downloading communism 🏴☠️
Only one of those entities could realistically deduce I’m making this post, and there’s no reason for them to care. Not that I’m particularly relevant to Western governments anyway. ¡Hola!
You can very well fragment what each one knows, and keep certain ones from knowing more.
Google knows I use Android, but the phone I’m holding is running a custom rom without gapps on a private dns server I run over a private vpn that I host on the other side of the Earth.
But, I admit, I’m not as thorough as I should be, one login and a few comments without paying absolute attention to a VPN connection and the veil is pierced.
I could start over, only come here over layers upon layers of obfuscation, but I’m no serial killer, so, meh. At least they don’t know what I’m doing all the time, 24/7, 365…
It’s not just gapps, though. Search, gtags/adsense, youtube, maps, etc are all so pervasive that google effectively controls the internet. You can try run ublock and a plethora of privacy addons, but those are only effective as long as Google is playing nice. Others, like Yandex, are not, and they defeat all those with ease.
Though I’d say running custom rom is an exception from the rule, along with people running with dumb or even no phone, but those are not but a blip on a big picture.
search
Qwant or SearXNG
gtags/adsense
Dns ad and tracker filtering
youtube
Use a piped or yt-dlp client
maps
Organic/Magic Maps
etc
I have more… Notes? Joplin. Cloud? Samba or Next/Owncloud. Syncing? Syncthing.
but those are only effective as long as Google is playing nice
you are assuming the use of a chromium based browser. and then avoiding youtube and gmaps is not as hard as switching to linuxon PC. ok maybe it’s easy for me, because I don’t use youtube for entertainment and so I’m not annoyed on that level if invidious breaks down, and openstreetmap is usable in the area, but you get the idea
Though I’d say running custom rom is an exception from the rule
that in itself is not enough though. even lineage still uses google services, without opengapps. calyx, iodé, graphene strips that out, but most custom roms are not interested in that
But if China has your data, then it is bad. If the U.S government has your data then it’s fine, right?
/s
China doesn’t need TikTok to get your data. They can just buy it from data brokers, lol.
Or sell you ads AND not have to pay for it, while also influencing us algorithmically directly. If that’s even the case, that is, which, who even fucking knows anymore. And I’m not even sure we needed tiktok to be pissed at wrongdoings everywhere, including Chinese government wrongdoings. Honestly, tiktok’s algorithm is better than basically any other algorithmic app right now, save for the fact that it obviously is getting very up to date information through my phone somehow.
More like Buys the same data from Meta but okay.
And if I don’t use facebook?
Then they still have a profile on you.
Considering the few times I’ve seen targeted ads, it’s never actually relevant to me, I doubt their profile of me is in anyway accurate.
I use blockers so facebook doesn’t know what websites I’m visiting.
Accuracy is not really relevant to the conversation. The point is that though the Chinese app gets a lot of crap for being a dataminer, the American social media apps are no better and in fact worse because they create ghost profiles of non users and make a ton of money selling that data indiscriminately. There’s no need to take offense, it isn’t a personal attack on your privacy practices.
Ever notice how any time a Chinese app gets highlighted as being for data harvesting, there’s a bunch of people crawling out of the woodwork to claim “whatabout american apps!?”, but whenever an American app gets the same exposer, noone ever goes “whatabout Chinese apps apps!?”
Highly personalized, targeted ads are more dangerous because they can create tailor made political ads. This was happening with Cambridge Analytica and it’s why having any political discussion online is impossible anymore because you’re never really sure what the other person “knows” anymore. Before that shit, everyone got the same speeches, news and ads.
You also have the blackmail factor. I do consider Chinese officials getting blackmail material on American politicians and businesses more dangerous then American companies doing the same. It’s a small margin, but there is a difference.
The best I can do is minimize how much they get from me, give them bad data and block any ads. The few times I see targeted ads seems to imply they think I’m a conservative woman. Who the hell else would want Concern Carry Yoga Pants?
These data harvesting creating fake profiles to sell to ad companies are not my concern. Let these shit companies cheat each other.
Ever notice how any time a Chinese app gets highlighted as being for data harvesting, there’s a bunch of people crawling out of the woodwork to claim “whatabout american apps!?”,
Yes, because the American social media apps and other data harvesters have a much greater affect on our lives than Chinese, but American media goes on and on about the dangers of Chinese social media and most Americans don’t even think about American social media.
And did you just accuse me of crawling out of woodwork?!
but whenever an American app gets the same exposer, noone ever goes “whatabout Chinese apps apps!?”
Yes because it makes perfect sense on western social media to cry “What about tiktok?!” When an article comes out about the very scandals you’re talking about. In fact I’m not sure what point you’re even trying to make saying the outrage is manufactured but then giving reasons why it should be legitimate.
I do consider Chinese officials getting blackmail material on American politicians and businesses more dangerous then American companies doing the same.
Well that’s an insane take. American companies blackmailing American politicians is why we slide further and further into a corporatocracy.
You dont think bytedance do ghost profiles…?
I had assumed that’s what they were doing with the data they bought from data brokers like Meta and Alphabet, yes.
Can I just brag for a moment? I feel like I am among my people, and there is a little lesson at the end.
to calibrate: White dude in my 40s, nerdy by nature but non-technical in my education/employment
Twitter - signed up in the early 2000s when it first came out, pretty much stopped using by 2011
Facebook - signed up in the early 2000s when it first got big, pretty much stopped using by 2011, deleted my abandoned account last year
Google +, I’m sure I never signed up, but I had an account that I never used. Google being google negated me ever having to contemplate whether or not I would ever use it
Snapchat - never used
TikTok - never used
Instagram - never used
Are there others? I don’t know.
Reddit was the only “social media” I ever used for a sustained period of time and the only one where I felt part of any sort of community. I left reddit in June of 2023 when I made this account and I’ve never been back.
So, in many ways, I am successfully resisting/avoiding “the algorithm” and I am a good example of high media literacy with good resistance to manipulation by social media.
But, just to emphasize why community itself is so valuable and worthy of exploitation by techbros, here are life changes I’ve made since joining Lemmy, even without any algorithms or dark patterns. Not that Lemmy is strictly causal in all of these, but the relationship is there:
-
I am now making my way through TNG, and am generally more Trek-literate
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Linux, natch
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Cancelled all streaming services (honestly most ‘subscription services’) in favor of a NAS running Plex (for now, will probably move to Jellyfin), Calibre, AudioBookshelf, Immich, Joplin, NextCloud, etc, etc, etc
-
Now using Steam Deck as my daily driver for gaming
In other words, though I prize my independent thinking and avoidance of Big Cloud, and though I think all of these are positive changes representing a positive influence, I am clearly impressionable. And so are you.
I was once working for a company that wanted to post pictures online. They had the option to opt out, so there is no picture or a blurr or whatever. I was the only one who had no picture and they didn’t like that, they didn’t ecpect that anyone would check that mark. They pressured me to have that picture there. I didn’t even really care tbh, i just checked it because i could. They told me that i have puctures online anyway and it doesn’t matter. I told them that if they find a single picture of me online, they could use that. I have no social media, no pictures online and nothing. They were quite disappointed
“Now, you know it’s up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum. Or… well, like Brian, for example, has thirty seven pieces of flair, okay. And a terrific smile.”
Wow, I just read my own use bio. Exactly down to the T. Except still on OSX and I am using infuse instead of plex jelly fin. But all other use patterns are identical.
I’d say. I never posted on reddit though. Just a lurker. On lemmy, I post :)
It seems like you got your taste of social media, decided you were essentially done with it and moved on.
I am just about in the same boat, I feel social media doesn’t offer me much that I value, and so I have been looking elsewhere.
My only use for social media is finding a $30 push mower or used TVs on marketplace.
Other than that, the content around most social media sites is mostly a slurry of bullshit mixed with Ai, so… waste of time, mostly.
Steam has an algorithm feeding you game suggestions
yeah and I gobble that shit up like candy.
I am not immune, and I don’t find all algorithms predatory - for example, I log on knowing that steam is selling me a product, but I am not the product. I just said in many ways I am successfully avoiding “the algorithm”, though the scare quotes immediately following a run down of social media networks was meant to indicate a specific type of algorithm that is meant to induce engagement or enragement (both are profitable) and change my behavior because I am the product.
I still have plenty of time for algorithms that serve me up games for that crucial 15% of my library that I bought but haven’t played yet.
One thing at a time Maxxie.
Fair enough :)
I never even signed up for Twitter.
The modern internet makes me want to live in a cave and grow moss.
That isn’t an accident.
There is this insight that I remember reading about internet scams, that they are poor quality with lots of misspelling by design. According to what I’ve read, this acts as a useful filter: If you’re smart enough to pick up on things like misspellings, we don’t want to waste our time scamming you.
That is now essentially the entire ethos of the modern internet.
Got you beat. 40’s dude who’s never used any social media except for reddit (if that counts). I also have never used a smart phone.
Many props to you. I feel like reddit doesn’t count as social media, but I couldn’t energetically defend that position. They are certainly engaging in social media tech bro behavior, so the distinction probably doesn’t matter at this point, but it felt different than social media before it went to shit. Now, obviously when it “went to shit” is a point in time that is highly relative to the observer, but always sometime after the observer joined. That’s just the nature of enshittification.
twitter early 2000s
2006 counts as early 2000s and not mid 2000s?
There is a lot of heated debate about this. They’re saying due to COVID, that “early” can mean anything from 0-8 now, which obviously I don’t understand but what can you do? They are saying it.
I must assume from your helpful correction that 2006 is the actual year twitter came out but even then I literally cannot be arsed to look that up on purpose because, I cannot stress this enough, I very much do not care about social media, as per my comment. So if you say 2006, that is what we’re going with.
There is a lot of heated debate about this. They’re saying due to COVID, that “early” can mean anything from 0-8 now
I would love to hear the logic behind that
Me too but, sadly: paywalled. That’s how they get you.
-
I have a Xiaomi phone. They already know everything about me.
I mean I’d rather China know everything about me than America, since as an American citizen, America is a much bigger threat.
But lets be honest, whether I get an iphone, samsung, or huawei, both countries are going to have all my data.
Facts
You could change ROM. Then the software wouldn’t spy on you anymore
I could, but how phones work with respect to PCs has always seemed very complicated to me and I don’t want to screw up my phone.
Understandable tbh. Depending on your phone, there are chances it’s actually fairly easy to change ROMs, you could also try stuff out on an older device of yours or your family’s
My gf had xiaomi once. Had to visit the doctors a lot before it cleared up.
Haha this joke is funny because foreigners have funny words and sound stupid
Edit apparently need the /s
Ayyyy!
Tell me, did I have a fever dream about this or does Xiaomi actually have ads in their settings and system apps?
It isn’t a dream, more like a nightmare.
I mean, they can be disabled, but it is pain in the ass to do so.
Not that I’ve seen. The only annoying thing is this weird Wallpaper Carousel they keep wanting me to use
I already get the same thing from the YouTube app which won’t shut the fuck up about Shorts
Check out revanced.app. You’re welcome.
Neato
Uninstalling that app was a game changer…so much better on browser with unblock origin running.
Uuuuuse a foss youtube frontend wooooooo like freetube or pipepipe woooooooooo…
(Insert other ghostly noises)
Pipepipe for life. By far the best YouTube experience around.
Fr if something works in browser I will never use the app.
Some exceptions for things which require better encryption.
YouTube shorts are fantastic. You have to be into misogyny though.
Interesting. All it shows me are cats, hair cut/dying, coffee, animals being silly, and comedic videos.
Log into YouTube on incognito mode
The terrible shit will he there, I saw it for the first time in a while after testing sound on live fedora before installing it on dual boot
So YouTube can see if you’re wearing a fedora & if you are, it shows you a grip of “alpha male” videos?
Mine was all this anti-women stuff, so I closed it and never looked back.
Did you enable saving history, custom recommendations…?
I get IDKsterling, shorts by miniminuteman, institute for justice, tasting history, stuff like that, then occasional cat/funny/meme videos that are largely benign
My shorts are just cats and dogs acting silly and the rare REPO clip…
I sign out to view shorts, clear site data, then manually search a couple of “seed” videos I like to get the algorithm picking out new stuff.
It won’t even show you anything unless you have some viewing history. It’s just straight up broken for people who have had accounts for many years.
Lol that’s close to what I do. It used to show you videos based on your likes and subs even with eatch history off but now they will refuse.
So I just temporarily turned on history, watch some seeds, then turn it off again, and voila, it suggests based on likes and subs just like before.
I don’t get Shorts. I can’t watch them on my PlayStation, if I click on one on the phone app it’ll disconnect the PlayStation and force me to watch it on my phone.
If you try to upload a video that is less than a minute long, it forces you to do Shorts.
I also don’t get why opening up a community thread or something pauses the video I’m watching on the PlayStation.
I’ve also noticed lately that when I connect the phone app with the PlayStation, about 30% of the time, the video will play extremely slow without sound. I have to close and reboot the YouTube app on the PlayStation to watch anything afterwards.
Sounds like a bunch of shit if you ask me!
China is a perfect communist motherland that doesn’t need anyones secrets!
Yes, I also love China and their all-seeing government.
I mean, I have it installed, but I have it installed in a “sandbox” (Co-opting androids work profile feature) I use Insular
But looking now, it seems it hasn’t been updated in a year so I might have to look for an alternative soon if it has issues when I upgrade to Android 16 lol
What is the point of these apps besides duplicating the app space? Does it actually provide any additional sandboxing that the android OS doesn’t do already?
Look into Shelter, it works on latest Android though it’s been several months since the last update.
TikTokChinaTeleMessage Israel or anyone really
