Mastodawn

Linux Is Best Jul 22

As a Meta employee, I can honestly tell you what we know, and I do not know how we obtain all of it.

* Your full name
* Your full home address
* Your phone number
* Your e-mail
* Your government ID
* Your consumer report history
* The name of every family member
* The name of every friend
* The name of their family / friends
* Your marital status
* If you are faithful to your partner
* Your work history (all of it)
* Your education history (all of it)
* Your travel history (going back years)
* Your birth gender
* Your gender ID
* Your sexuality
* Your sexual preferences
* How often you're having sex
* Your partner's details (all the above)
* Your political ideology
* Your involvement with any group
* If you protest, we know
* If you're unhappy, we know

The amount of information we collect on you is insane. And we do it all for supposedly marketing and yes, we help the government since they have access to all this too.

So when someone says they want to avoid META or GOOGLE - respect.

Right now, if you have an Android Phone and have any META apps -- Without opening them, check if they are running.

Power off and power on your phone (reboot), and they will still be running on their own.

Proceed to put your phone down on the table without opening the app and talk about something random. DYI Projects, for example. Do this for an hour or so, and wait.

Your META apps will start showing you ads for that topic if there is a market for it. We're always listening -- Always!

@Linux My girlfriend just noticed this the other day. She also noticed this with her Google searches. The phone is literally spying on us without our permission. It’s absolutely creepy and disturbing. My iPhone does not do this.

Linux Is Best Jul 22

Wrong.

Sign up for AdGuard DNS or Control D DNS and enable logging. Have your iPhone use that profile all the time.

Even with no apps installed. Your Apple iPhone calls out more than Android or Microsoft Windows 11.

Now go ahead and install some apps and watch the query climb rapidly.

@Linux Oh really!? Okay.

@Linux JFC! And here I thought Apple would be better.

@housepanther @Linux Worth a read https://timsh.org/tracking-myself-down-through-in-app-ads/

Everyone knows your location

How I tracked myself down using leaked location data in the in-app ads, and what I found along the way.

tim.sh

FeloniousPunk Jul 23

@quokka1 @housepanther @Linux now I want to track down the brokers.

@FeloniousPunk @housepanther @Linux publish an ad asking for their details

NosirrahSec 🏴‍☠️ guillotine enthusiast Jul 26

@FeloniousPunk @quokka1 @housepanther @Linux data brokers are filthy, gross, dangerous, animals.

FeloniousPunk Jul 26

@NosirrahSec @quokka1 @housepanther @Linux I have zero doubt, which is why everyone should know exactly who they are.

diana 🏳️‍⚧️🦋🌱Jul 23

@quokka1 @housepanther @Linux

I once tried a data broker "demo" test and the information they gave me was the real thing. They were offering far more than financial and legal history...

Shirley Eugest Jul 23

@quokka1 @housepanther @Linux
I really hate Unity ads. Very intrusive.

Poloniousmonk Jul 23

@housepanther @Linux

My understanding is that Apple is better about keeping your data in-house, but just as predatory about collecting it.

Ben Rosengart Jul 23

@housepanther @Linux It is. This person is ... saying a lot of things I'm not sure they can back up.

@fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux If this person were telling the truth, they wouldn't still be working for Meta.

Musing Mouse Jul 24

@mansr @fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux sounds like you haven’t worked in a technology company.

@musingmouse @fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux If those posts were accurate, Meta would know who it was and fire them.

Musing Mouse Jul 24

@mansr @fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux you are saying that now that this person has shared this info they may be at risk of being fired, and that proves the info is wrong?

It appears you are mixing up cause and effect with something else, like a time machine?

@musingmouse @fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux These are the possibilities:

- The bit about information gathering is accurate, in which case they'd know who posted it and fire them.
- The poster does work for Meta but the claims are exaggerated, in which case they'd be fired if found out.
- The poster doesn't work for Meta and is making it all up. This is the most likely.

The part about the apps always listening is a dead giveaway. Nothing does that. It's nothing but a persistent myth.

Musing Mouse Jul 24

@mansr @fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux there are two possibilities:

1- they are right
2- they are wrong

Either way has no impact on if they will be fired -after- they shared what they shared. Since we can test and validate many of the things they are claiming and they appear to be accurate, the first seems more likely. If they lose their job for blowing the whistle, that would suck. Time travel is still science fiction.

Musing Mouse Jul 24

@mansr @fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux just looked in more detail at his instance name. It’s a troll. No intelligence but lots of stubbornness. Blocking and stopping my feeding.

Leonard Ritter Jul 24

@mansr @fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux pretty sure today was their last day ;)

@lritter @mansr @fivetonsflax @Linux They would still have to uncover a fediverse identity. This is not a task easily done. I know if Meta handed me a subpoena to reveal an identity on my instance, I'd drop my drawers and piss on it.

@housepanther @lritter @fivetonsflax @Linux If they really have all the info claimed above along with the ability to make audio recordings unnoticed, they'd surely have no trouble figuring out who it is.

@mansr @lritter @fivetonsflax @Linux Not if reasonable security and privacy measures are taken.

@housepanther @lritter @fivetonsflax @Linux And that's why the OP is so ridiculous.

Fred Moyer Jul 24

@fivetonsflax @housepanther @Linux the mention of adguard etc is sus. I don’t doubt they Hoover up all that data. Question is how do you stop it without the shield getting it too.

@phredmoyer @fivetonsflax @Linux I use Quad9 for DNS now

Shirley Eugest Jul 23

@housepanther @Linux
https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/21/apple-pulls-icloud-end-to-end-encryption-feature-for-uk-users-after-government-demanded-backdoor/

Apple pulls iCloud end-to-end encryption feature for UK users after government demanded backdoor | TechCrunch

In an unprecedented step, Apple caved to a reported U.K. government’s demand to prevent users from using end-to-end encryption in iCloud.

TechCrunch

Sexybiggetje🐖Jul 23

@EugestShirley it's not enabled by default anyway, it's opt-in. It should be opt-out if they really care about your privacy. @housepanther @Linux

xinit ☕Jul 23

@housepanther
That's the result of their decades of PR, I expect.
@Linux

Xoa Gray Jul 23

@housepanther @Linux Smartphones are a plague. Every one of them is a data privacy nightmare regardless of maker.

@xoagray @Linux Indeed that is the bottom line and I would really like to be able to get by without one. But at this point I am running a business so that is hard to do with a flip phone.

Xoa Gray Jul 23

@housepanther That's true and they know it. I can offer you one thing though, it's not just that data is being collected, it's what is being done with it. Apple mostly uses the data for their own stuff, Google sells it to whomever, that's part of their business model. So having to make the same decision as you, I also use an iPhone.

@xoagray I just see the iPhone as the lesser of the evils. I like the iPhone for the quality of the hardware. I don't particularly like the operating system at all. It's just that iPhones hold up whereas the Android hardware falls apart quickly and easily. What I've spent on Android phones, I could have had several iPhones.

Xoa Gray Jul 23

@housepanther I've been there, I used to bounce back and forth between Androids (mostly Samsungs but a few 1+ and LG,) and iPhones. But I settled on the latter because at the time Android was a lot more battery hungry and less stable. It's gotten better on both now, but in that time Google became the "evil" their old slogan said not to be. I generally avoid anything Google at this point. At least to the amount I can considering how pervasive their services are in everything.

@xoagray @housepanther Using a Pixel with GrapheneOS is probably the best way to got if you want maximum security and privacy. As always, privacy and security comes with some tradeoffs, but nothing that really hurts.

Xoa Gray Jul 24

@NebulaTide @housepanther Yeah, the worst thing about this is it still requires giving money to Google, but at least it's just once instead of giving them years of data to sell and exploit.

@xoagray @housepanther Unfortunately the truth is that the Pixels are currently the only smartphones meeting the high security standards of the GrapheneOS team. If you want both, privacy and security, there is no way around Pixel + GrapheneOS.

Xoa Gray Jul 24

@NebulaTide @housepanther That's exactly my point.

@xoagray @housepanther So there are not many options. When using a "normal" Android phone, you are simply using a pocket device that is spying on you and the data you are generating with it are sold. Apple is probably not selling these data, but that doesn't mean they are not collecting and using it.

If you want to make sure that your devices are not spying on you, go for the alternatives, which means Linux or BSD on computers and GrapheneOS on smartphones. Unfortunatley Google is doing their best to make development harder for custom ROMs.

Xoa Gray Jul 24

@NebulaTide @housepanther I miss the “Don't be evil" days.

(((Baslow)))Jul 24

@NebulaTide @xoagray @housepanther
My wife and I are using Fairphone 4s, purchased from Murena, running /e/OS. Any opinion on what that buys us?

@baslow @NebulaTide @xoagray I’ve never even heard of the Fairphone so I cannot comment.

(((Baslow)))Jul 24

@housepanther @NebulaTide @xoagray
Modular, reparable, sustainable phones made in Europe. Android, out of the box, but Murena offers versions pre-loaded with /e/OS. When we purchased, it was the only way to buy Fairphones in the U.S. -- not sure what the story is now.

What is lost in state-of-the-art is made up for (I think) in vastly throttled tracking (with optional tweaking).

https://murena.com/shop/smartphones/brand-new/murena-fairphone-4-eu/

Murena Fairphone 4

The deGoogled Murena Fairphone 4 is the first 5G privacy conscious and sustainable phone.

Murena - deGoogled phones and services

Xoa Gray Jul 24

@baslow @housepanther @NebulaTide This is also my understanding, perhaps not quite as good as GraphineOS, but better than any stock android. If I were going to switch to Android, Fairphone 6 would be on my radar.

@baslow @xoagray @housepanther I could elaborate, but I recommend reading this to build your own opinion.

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/24134-devices-lacking-standard-privacysecurity-patches-and-protections-arent-private

Devices lacking standard privacy/security patches and protections aren't private - GrapheneOS Discussion Forum

GrapheneOS discussion forum

GrapheneOS Discussion Forum

(((Baslow)))Jul 24

@NebulaTide @xoagray @housepanther
Okay, thanks for the link. There's a lot to weigh, here.

@xoagray @NebulaTide @housepanther you could buy a BNIB second hand from someone who got it from upgrading their phone plan. That way you're not directly giving money to Google.

@housepanther @Linux
The pure number of calls, says nothing in the first place.
Yes, we can agree, less is always better.
But if you follow his instructions, you can see what is calling who.
You will see that the majority of calls will be Apple itself. Services from Apple, running on your iPhone calling home.
Then you will see that the majority of these calls are from your iCloud account. The more you „added“, the more communication you will see.

@housepanther @Linux
such as iMessage, Contacts, Email, etc.
I don’t go so far to say that there are no questionable services calling home.
But again, the pure number of outgoing communication, says nothing.

Linux Is Best Jul 23

@Platano_Isla @housepanther

The phone I tested with does not use iCloud or any Apple subscription services activated. Not even the limit free trials or basics.

@Linux @housepanther
I just can tell, what I have seen yesterday, using AdGuard DNS.
1. most connections went to Apple
2. the majority of these where iCloud based connections.

But my point in general was that one OS that opens X connections is not more secure than an OS that opens X+x connections per se.
What connects to where and how?

Vibuda Nimsara Jul 23

@housepanther @Linux iPhone is more secure than Android. But not privacy.

F4GRX SÃ©bastien Jul 23

@housepanther @Linux no, they just do the same, but keep it for themselves.

Petar Petrov Jul 26

@housepanther @Linux There is some truth to that in the sense that 3rd party iPhone apps cannot run background services the way that’s possible on Android.

Alyx Tate Jul 22

@Linux @housepanther Says phones and OSes bad, forgets to share good things like GrapheneOS

@alyx @Linux Linux and BSD are not bad OSes. 😉

I’ve heard good things about Graphene. But I like the build quality of the iPhone.