#Internet Tracking

[author-a-holmes]

I learnt this as standard business practice as an indie author. Many platforms, or communities, will only allow you to use "Clean" links. Ie, links with the tracking info removed.

So I started doing it before I really knew what the difference was, just for my book promotion etc. Now I know what the stuff after the ? is, I clean ALL my links.

It just seems polite to anyone who might be clicking on them in the future.

Do you check for trackers and remove them before sharing links?

[wlzarecki]

"Google’s tracking mechanisms cover 85 percent of the most popular websites, and Facebook’s tracking reaches 55 percent of the most popular websites, giving both companies extraordinary visibility into the Web browsing habits of millions of people."

[queerautisticspin]

It’s interesting that the heads of these companies aren’t concerned about ChatGPT in this way, like it pretty much knows everything about us they could know (if they had interest in a specific person for some reason) but the catch is that the generative ai has these so called ‘conversations’ with people and, clearly, accidentally lets certain things slip that some people still don’t know they track you on. (Ever heard of ‘cookies’?)

But they’re not concerned it might make people distrustful of the company or ChatGPT because they know people carry on using it anyway and they have the power that means people can’t just stop using things from those companies (you can’t get through having a normal life in todays society if you have no technology, unfortunately)

This is all just the obvious shit a lot of people already know but I don’t think I’ll ever not be concerned, because when a company does something bad behind closed doors? Normal stuff, gonna happen, still bad but y’know. But when a company does something bad and *doesn’t care if the general public knows*? That’s just a massive sign to me that we’re failing as a society.

people who are just finding out about internet tracking and data mining in the year 2025 and that your special robot friend does not respect your privacy lol

[genericpuff]

I've been griping about the normalization of identity outing via social media for a while now. To put it simply, it's become almost some weird societal requirement that if you don't have every detail listed about yourself in your Twitter/FB/etc. bio, then it means you have "something to hide" or that you're not as "verifiable" because your account looks indistinct from that of a bot.

But that societal norm has really only benefited the people who profit off of that information in some way, whether it's through selling user data or through weaponizing details about a person against them.

I know that a lot of us love to use the fun little labels and acronyms in our bio that help others like us identify us as a 'safe person' or as someone who's in the same social/racial/identity groups as them. We're humans, we love to categorize things, it's in our nature (and it's fun!)

But if there's any time to start regulating that habit and challenging the norm that you're obligated to include all your personal info online - it's now.

There was a time when sock puppet accounts were expected and typical, not "suspicious".

There was a time when even age-sex-location was considered "too much information", but once it became the norm, we only EVER gave our personal information beyond generic ASL to people who we knew both online and in real life, or at the very least, people who we had known online for a significant enough amount of time that they had proved to be trustworthy (and even then, we didn't owe that information to anyone, ever; there are forum friends who I made online 10+ years ago and still talk to who do not know my personal information beyond broad strokes).

There was a time when simply being an avatar with a funny username was enough. And it still is enough, but massive platforms like Facebook and Twitter have been brainwashing us for years to believe that's not the case, under the guise of, "You wouldn't want to be dishonest, would you?" Through these same norms, we were led to believe that anime profile pictures are cringe, that having a fake online name is stupid, that the photos of you having fun at social events have to be taken JUST right otherwise you might imply to others that you're not actually having fun.

And considering how long these platforms have been around now, we have entire generations of children now who have been born and raised on that version of the ZuckMusk web, who have been taught that it "protects them" to express to everyone publicly their age, their school, their workplace, their family members, everything about themselves, because to not do so would be disingenuous.

None of this is to imply that the Internet was "safer" back in the day. I definitely should not have been on the Internet as much as I was when I was 13 in the late 2000's, it definitely did not benefit my brain development or my social skills. But the version of the Internet we currently exist in now is one that's been predicated on the false sense of security - the belief that if you're honest, everyone else has to be, too.

We've always had ways of identifying our safe people - by participating in the communities that we know are designed around our hobbies, our interests, our people. They might be small, they might not be as "cool" as the idea of netting yourself a big following of thousands of people, but they're also a lot safer and more genuine than that idealized following ever could be.

Don't feel pressured to include every bit of information about yourself in your bio. Even on Facebook, there's no rule that says you have to list your workplace, your school, your family members. There's no rule that says you have to list your personality type, queer labels, and neurodivergent disorders in your Twitter bio. There's no rule that you have to "prove" your life is real and fulfilled through the verification of photos, location tagging, and open-book sharing. If you share those photos, it should be because you genuinely want to share them, not because you feel some societal pressure to live up to others' expectations.

And I guarantee you, even your local mutuals on Facebook - your former classmates, family friends, distant relatives, coworkers, etc. - do not actually give that much of a damn about your personal life that they should be owed that much of a look into it on a daily basis. They've got their own shit going on, they literally do not need to know every detail about you.

I know it sounds scary. It also sounds kind of boring, when we've been used to a certain "way" of browsing and participating for years, that if we don't do so, it feels like being in the "out group" and that we're "breaking the rules". But I promise you, after spending over half my life online, those rules do not exist or benefit anyone who wouldn't profit off that information.

If you're wanting to learn how to branch off from major platforms like Facebook and Twitter and/or become more self-sufficient online, here are some guides to navigating the Internet like an old schooler that may help you!

FREE SITE BUILDER:

DIGITAL PIRACY 101:

(also in addition to everything mentioned here ^^^ they neglect to also mention Tor Browser which is a light and free-to-use browser software that allows you to browse anonymously; note that it's similar to a VPN in that it helps hide your identity online, HOWEVER it won't mask you from your ISP quite as effectively as a VPN, and if you sign into personal accounts with Tor, that's still going to obviously out you online lmao but I love using Tor for the odd time when I need to make a sock puppet for something and don't want it linked to my IP! and unlike a VPN, it's free to use!)

LEARN HOW TO USE RSS FEEDS:

People still use these! They're especially helpful for getting updates from your favorite pages and sites directly to your browser WITHOUT having to worry about stupid algorithm bullshit picking and choosing what you see. And many sites DO have RSS support once you know how to find it! (like adding in /rss at the end of a URL! Like this!)

FAKE EMAIL SERVICES:

LEARN HOW TO CODE IN HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT (AND MORE!):

DECENTRALIZED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:

I hope this helps arm you with some new knowledge in how to navigate the Internet like a Certified Old Person™️(like meeee!) Make your secret alt blogs for besties! Make your formal Facebook accounts that are clean of personal information and present the most neutral, safe-for-work version of yourself and keep the fun stuff to the secret profiles and chat groups that are just for you and friends/family/etc!! It might be "inconvenient" to have multiple accounts for the same purpose, but it's also INCREDIBLY freeing and can make your online experience both safer and more enjoyable.

Being "less" of yourself online does not make you any less you. It is your identity - you do not owe any amount of it to anyone beyond yourself. And in times like these, your identity is your greatest asset. Protect it.

[secondbeatsongs]

my boss: can you believe it? my teenage son spent all night on his chromebook again; I could barely wake him up for school!

me: oof, that sucks. what was he doing?

my boss: well the tracking thing said he was on...git...hub?

me: ...oh? that's cool! that's a site for coders; you can find some really cool projects on there! I wonder what he was up to

my boss: I'll ask my husband. he said he'd check the history

(pause while boss texts her husband)

my boss: oh. he was looking for a way to get past the tracking software...

me, internally: based!! so proud of him!! godspeed dude, I believe in you!

me, out loud: oh, uh...parenting. parenting is hard, huh?

my boss: you have no idea T_T

[figs-art]

Train

Based on a clip from a Daily Dose Of Internet video

[aberranthought]

god twitter is such an awful website sometimes and really is going downhill but I don’t think I’ll ever leave

[petvengers]

My fave sad little meow meow meets my new sad little meow meow.

Except it's petvengers so no bad thing ever happens :D

So yeah, I'm battling my artblock in the old best way going back to petvengers XD

[ennn]

[victusinveritas]

[maxz-b]

what possessed him to put on that floppy hat i wonder part 18/???

[pokimoko]

Hello!! i just discovered your blog and firstly i wanna say that your art is gorgeous! <33 and secondly, if youre still taking requests could i get a lesbian/non binary cheetah? /nf

Thank you! Cheetahs be upon ye!

[glitchinginthegarden]

couple'a night owls

[ladyicepaw]

Raise higher Nothing burns as bright as my rage No wonder half as great 🔥 🎵

[lostwords-found]

asgjkhjkl HELP I just unmuted my phone and discovered that it was playing Mr Bonzo's On His Way. Which I had NOT told it to do and which the sound controls on my phone did not appear to be aware it was playing. OH GOOD. Had to shut down multiple background apps before it stopped. THIS IS FINE this is FINE hahahahahaha it's fINE

[ghibli]

playing blue prince in a void has lead to a kind of funny experience. I came online excited to find people who are enjoying the duality of the punishing roguelike with the fact that there never seems to stop being epic puzzles to solve while you play the fun drafting game. like wow guys isn't it cool that this fun game ALSO keeps giving me secrets? only to discover most people are hate the rng of the actual game and are just trying to progress the puzzle like read the room prox.