Ben Werdmuller
LinkedIn is using invasive techniques to fingerprint your browser. Together with its understanding of your identity and professional history, it has the ingredients for an incredibly detailed profile. #Technology https://werd.io/linkedin-is-illegally-searching-your-computer/
LinkedIn Is Illegally Searching Your Computer

LinkedIn is using invasive techniques to fingerprint your browser. Together with its understanding of your identity and professional history, it has the ingredients for an incredibly detailed profile.

Ben Werdmuller
Apr 3 at 1:11amWeb
Show threadScott Murray 22h ago

@ben Thanks for this accessible interpretation of that piece.

When you began “the easiest thing to do is…”, I thought you were going to say “definitely never use LinkedIn ever again.” 😅

Show threadskedarwarrior21h ago

@ben "Illegal"

A lot of websites are doing this alas.

I did however see something interesting recently.

Someone on youtube said we need to stop normalizing all of this surveillance crap.

I completely agree 100%

Show threadocdtrekkie21h ago
@ben So I saw a post from LinkedIn about it and it's arguably better/not better. They are looking for content scrapers to block to protect your privacy... sorry, their monopoly moat.
Show threadocdtrekkie21h ago
@ben I think it's really important though to remind people that if your browser extensions are numerous enough to be a fingerprinting vector, you have a bigger problem, because browser extensions completely undermine the Internet's security model and if you have more than like two you are hosed.
Show threadColby Russell9h ago

@ocdtrekkie @ben that's just spin through selective honesty on their part, and the HN-adjacent crowd is swallowing it.

mdp dumped a dataset extracted from their (massive) blob of sniffing logic two months ago.

There are a lot of scrapers and scummy leads-generators there. And there're plenty of conventional (in the putting-you-in-control sense) ones, too. Things like open source extensions designed to enforce caps on time spent on "distracting websites like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook".

Show threadPedroMJ19h ago
@ben For these to be effective, one has to visit their site. To protect your privacy, avoid unneeded websites. It is that simple.
Show threadluca17h ago
@ben Another proof of Microsoft's reversed Mida's touch.
Show threadDavid16h ago

@ben
Thank you.

I am wondering whether „fingerprinting“ is the right term here.
In the advertising space, fingerprinting is used to identify users - or at least understand which activities originate from the same person. But LinkedIn should be all logged-in activity.
Isn’t this technology used by LinkedIn about „scraping additional information“. From what I understand, the technology isn’t used to follow users across the web.

Show threadPax Ahimsa Gethen7h ago

@ben

Glad I use Firefox, even though it's at risk at becoming AI-enshittified. (I disabled all AI crud that I could find.)

I'm not a fan of LinkedIn, but I find it useful for finding things to write about on Wikipedia and elsewhere.