32
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] TheRealBob@lemmy.world 60 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Doesn’t matter if you’re using an iPhone or android. They have your number, email, etc. (either given by you or by someone else when they uploaded their contacts to Facebook/instagram/whatsapp) and everything you do is tracked and logged.

That’s the thing about Meta. They gather info from literally billions of people, it doesn’t matter if you personally handed it over or not. Everyone who has your info — name, phone number, email, work number, etc. has probably already shared all or some of it with Meta. The moment you sign up and give them any info at all that matches your info in someone’s contacts, they’ll know it’s you.

If you don’t want them tracking you, your only option is to not use their services and block all their trackers. They’ll have your info anyway, but at least they won’t be able to track your activity.

Edit: a lot of people don’t grasp how bad the situation is with Meta. They trick people into uploading their contacts by requesting access to “help you find your friends” across their services, and they match that info and create a shadow profile for everyone. As soon as you sign up to any of their services, they’ll match that shadow profile to you. That’s why you immediately see people you know even though you just created an account. You’re in their contacts. Facebook has outed countless gay and trans people, as well as sex workers. They will also recommend your therapist’s clients to you as “people you may know” because you all have the therapist’s phone number.

It’s a nightmare. I’ve been trying to make people aware of it for like a decade or something like that. No one listens.

[-] SrElsewhere@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

There are so many platforms anymore that I have neither the time nor desire to keep up with even a quarter of them. So maybe eight years back, a friend suggests I check out Snap Chat.

I jump on there to find about 20 pages of names of people who thought it was okay, acceptable, to share my info from their database. I've always been very careful and discreet with mine. But to have it thrown right in my face like that, whew. Here's my message to those folks:

If you think it's okay to share my private number, or anything else I've provided in confidence, with the planet, please delete my number.

[-] TheRealBob@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

RIGHT? It’s fucking insane that no one seems to be talking about this. I’ve been trying for years and people just roll their eyes or ignore me. What the fuck.

And it’s completely because people don’t think about it and/or don’t understand how this stuff works. The app says “share your contacts to find your friends!” and people just go “cool ok”.

Here’s a not-cool story: Facebook showed my friend a photo of her rapist under “people you may know”. Fucking hell.

[-] SrElsewhere@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

I get that these aren't tech people. But there's a serious gap in protocol that seems to give them the ol' Whoosh.

If I walked up on the street and asked to see somone's dB? Lol

If a mutual acquaintance asked for your number? I'd call you with their number.

So would these non-techies. But put them on a machine and they seem to lose their minds.

Psst, want me to help you? Just give me your dB. I'll make it easy for ya.

And they think that's okay.

[-] TheRealBob@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I mean there are people out there who drink their own piss because someone on Facebook said it was healthy. Obviously there’s something about information coming from an official or official-looking (or sounding) source that just makes people do weird things. It’s not any different than people falling for scams, MLMs, alternative medicine, etc.

Edit: omg remember the guy who injected piss into his arm during an interview? lmao

Edit 2: I FOUND IT LMAO

[-] 3aqn5k6ryk@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

i DoN’t HaVe AnYtHiNg tO HiDe. Every single time.

[-] sun_is_ra@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

They trick people into uploading their contacts

You can't signup for WhatsApp without giving them access to your contacts

[-] ModernRisk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

What if I would use an dummy email and refuse to add contacts? Purely to just use the app to view content.

Though, can’t use it anyway. Europe.

[-] TheRealBob@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Europe? Do you use WhatsApp? If so, your info is already in their hands thanks to your friends/family who shared their contacts with Meta. Basically if you or any of your friends/family use any Facebook service, including WhatsApp and Instagram, they already have all your info.

Say you do sign up for Meta with a dummy email. The moment you start following people, checking out hashtags etc, they will start connecting dots.

It’s virtually impossible to avoid being tracked by them. This is why privacy advocates and activists have been begging people to stop using Meta’s apps and services for literally decades. Not only does it track the user, but also pretty much everyone the user knows, including people who never consented to having their information shared, never used any of their service, etc.

[-] AstralPath@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

You're only thinking about the surface level of the issue. The tracking rabbit hole goes incredibly deep. There's so much shit happening behind the scenes when you browse the internet that if you could see it all laid out in front of you you would probably gag. It's almost impossible for the average internet user to avoid their tracking methods.

[-] desmondjones@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

If I installed the app, and didn’t give permission to location, or photos, or health… they can’t see that info can they?

[-] TheRealBob@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

They don’t need to. They already know where you live, work, etc.

But they can’t see the info that’s stored in your phone, no.

[-] redditcunts@lemmy.world -3 points 1 year ago

Trick people 🤣

Christ. It's so tired hearing this same old bullshit.

this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023
32 points (94.4% liked)

No Stupid Questions

35728 readers
678 users here now

No such thing. Ask away!

!nostupidquestions is a community dedicated to being helpful and answering each others' questions on various topics.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must be legitimate questions. All post titles must include a question.

All posts must be legitimate questions, and all post titles must include a question. Questions that are joke or trolling questions, memes, song lyrics as title, etc. are not allowed here. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.



Rule 2- Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Questions which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding META posts and joke questions.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-question posts using the [META] tag on your post title.

On fridays, you are allowed to post meme and troll questions, on the condition that it's in text format only, and conforms with our other rules. These posts MUST include the [NSQ Friday] tag in their title.

If you post a serious question on friday and are looking only for legitimate answers, then please include the [Serious] tag on your post. Irrelevant replies will then be removed by moderators.



Rule 7- You can't intentionally annoy, mock, or harass other members.

If you intentionally annoy, mock, harass, or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.



Credits

Our breathtaking icon was bestowed upon us by @Cevilia!

The greatest banner of all time: by @TheOneWithTheHair!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS