Rethink DNS is a better solution than the DuckDuckGo vpn they mentioned
this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2025
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Your phone is showing you ads?
I don't see ads anywhere anymore. I have ublock origin on my phone and PC browsers, I use alternative apps like Grayjay instead of the official YouTube app, and if I can't block ads on some platform, I just don't use it.
I understand giving in to ads on some apps if the platform really matters and there's not an alternative, but why not use ublock origin for the rest? Is it still not well known that you can block ads?
I block ads both on DNS blocklists and browser plugin level. Vanadium unfortunately doesn't have uBlock origin so I'll have to improvise something when I start using GrapheneOS on mobile -- I don't get out much.
Tangentially related to the article: To get an idea of how this data helps aggregators, ask ChatGPT to develop a complete psychological profile of yourself.
My usage history consists of requests for basic programming questions, help wording certainty things, scripts, reviewing documentation (eg organization policy), and a couple things goofing off (eg put my cat in a tuxedo). Just based on the types of questions I’m asking, and how I ask questions, and how I redirect it’s output via follow up questions, it was able to put together a profile that was surprisingly accurate.
It had a few things wrong, notably related to how organized or self disciplined I am. But if it had my calendar, by browser history, my biometric data (eg watch info), my location, it would easily be able to fill in the gaps. If the system only existed to help me, it would be tremendously valuable. But since the owners of this tech are all adversaries I am terrified for the future. The idea of the US federal government using it to profile citizens is too much to contemplate.
Downvoted for shitty clickbait headline.
I respect that.
Article warns that you will be profiled based on interests.
Article then profiles you based on interests. Proceeds to sell you VPN subscriptions.
Can't say they didn't warn you...
The other article is why I posted this article. I thought it would be interesting to have both articles in discussion simultaneously. I was surprised to see that article on lemmy when I had read this article earlier that day. :)
I pride myself on not going in for conspiracy theories and always doing due diligence on the facts. But the idea that my phone is listening to me at times when it shouldn't be is one I am not going to give up easily.
This is why I run GrapheneOS and LineageOS.
My main point against the idea is that they wouldn't need to hide the fact it was happening. If it were possible with current tech there would already be some AI subscription bullshit that listens and takes notes on everything you do all day.
Honestly most people I saw outside of the hardcore tech sphere were excited about apple intelligence until it became clear what a shit show it was. I don't see how it was supposed to be any less invasive than windows recall but it got a completely different reaction. You just need a good advertising/propoganda department and people will pay you for the privilege of being spied on.
It is better than Recall along a few axes. It doesn’t send communications off device without specifically requesting it. It computes as required in isolated environments. And most importantly, the goal as far as we can tell is for information and toys, not for logging all the actions taken on your phone.
I’m not trying to be a fanboi here, but even if Apple Intelligence is bad… Recall is much much worse.
I am not downplaying the phone spying on me, I imagine it is.
But ads are the least of my concerns. I see less ads now than at any other time in my life.
So how do I know if it is happening to me?
I believe this is how you know:
Cogito, ergo sum res venalis
- René Descartes
Tap for spoiler
Translation for ease
I think, therefore I am a product to be sold
I occasionally do fun little experiments with others and there phones (with contest) where we find a subject we both have absolutely no interest in, and we figure it out without any electronics at all around, like our back and what not, then we agree to not do anything with our electronics about it at all and only talk to each other about it by our phones, and every fucking time we both start to get add recommendations about whatever we was talking about.
Had a past friend who was asexual and aromantic and never really cared or looked into paternity tests and baby stuff (because like why?) and after a few days of randomly talking about it they got tons of adds targeted for pregnant women (they was trans non binary but was afab)
So from my limited tests, it absolutely does spy on us
I have tried it as well. Speaking in front of my phone about surfing equipment for example. I couldn't care less about surfing so wouldn't accidentally google anything about it but so far I never got any specific ads for that.
Same. My partner and I have heard so much about this that we have over several months randomly brought up topics that are absurd and foreign to us.
We do it like this: while preparing dinner or so, one of us scribbles a word on a post-it note and we engage on it as though we're making plans or looking to buy something. We have phones, Google Home speakers and Nest devices nearby.
There are a few challenges:
- Make sure the topic didn't come up from an internet interaction you already had.
- Don't, under any circumstances, search the internet about any of those topics.
- Simply remember that you're running this experiment. We keep track of topics we've raised through handwritten notes.
I feel that ordinary people are terrible at running these experiments because it's honestly really difficult to be impartial and evaluate the results with statistical significance. As soon as you encounter one match, the pattern matching part of your brain will scream "told you so!" even if the success rate is 1%.
And guess what? Literally none of the topics appear as targeted ads for either of us.
You fool you just typed it and spoiled your experiment
Thought about that. Next time I'll just use paragliding!
Oh shit.
Turn microphone permissions off cmon
Does it really matter if the device admin is Google or Apple?
With open source ROMs like LineageOS and GrapheneOS the admin is you.
I cam here just to say: "we know" enough has happened over the years that the people i know ha e some sort of awareness or conviction that it's happening.
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