Reddit this week announced that it will no longer allow Reddit users to opt out of ad personalization, which means that ads on the platform will be...

TL;DR: Reddit is removing the option to opt out of ad personalization, targeting ads based on user activity. Some specific ad categories can still be limited, but there’s no more opt-out option.

  • onoEnglish
    26·
    9 months ago

    I mean, what can be done? If you want or need to use the thing you almost have no choice.

    We have to act collectively.

    1. Don’t buy products or use services that require personal info. Of course, this means being willing to make do without some things, at least until they’re convinced/forced to change or alternatives appear. In cases where the thing is a necessity, push back (clearly, articulately, and firmly) before sharing your info. Let them know that they’re losing goodwill by being nosy, and that you’ll stop buying from them as soon as you can.
    2. Look for products/services that respect our privacy, and support them when possible.
    3. Pass legislation that forbids needlessly collecting such info. Some regions (e.g. European Union, California) have already taken small steps in this direction. We need to take it further, everywhere.

    I think it might also be helpful to have some kind of (independently verified) privacy labeling program for products and services. It would ease some of the burden from consumers when shopping around, and could become an easy marketing tool for companies that want to attract customers.

    • dom
      28·
      9 months ago

      Honestly, number 3 is the only thing that would have marginal impact. Consumers don’t have the time and energy to research every product to the depth required foe the first two.

      • onoEnglish
        2·
        9 months ago

        Consumers don’t have the time and energy to research every product to the depth required foe the first two.

        You don’t need to go on a research project to see the personal info fields in a sign-up form.

        For more complicated stuff, a labeling program would help.

        • dom
          9·
          9 months ago

          On some products, these steps occur after you’ve purchased and opened the product and are setting it up.

          • onoEnglish
            6·
            9 months ago

            1a. Exercise your right to return things that have invasive hidden requirements.

            (And this is another area where a labeling program would help.)

        • dan@upvote.auEnglish
          3·
          9 months ago

          You don’t need to go on a research project to see the personal info fields in a sign-up form.

          That’s not the only way companies get data about you though. Some collect it through their app - the sites that try and force you to use the app instead of the site are usually the worst offenders. Others just buy data from data brokers like Acxiom, Experian, LiveRamp, etc. and correlate it with the details they have on you (phone number, email address, ad targeting ID, etc).

          Where possible, use sites instead of apps, since it limits the types of data that can be collected (as sites are highly sandboxed compared to apps). Good sites let you install them as PWAs for a more app-like feel.

          • onoEnglish
            1·
            9 months ago

            That’s not the only way companies get data about you though.

            Nobody said it was.

            • dan@upvote.auEnglish
              1·
              9 months ago

              I was mostly replying to the top level comment about choosing companies/products that respect your privacy. It’s pretty much impossible to tell if a company cares about or respects your privacy just from the sign up form.

              • onoEnglish
                1·
                9 months ago

                It read as though you thought picking out one particular case that I didn’t address somehow refuted what I wrote. (Which it doesn’t, of course, because I wasn’t making an exhaustive list.)

                I was mostly replying to the top level comment

                I see. That was confusing, since the top-level comment wasn’t mine, yet you replied to me. Thanks for clarifying.

      • SokathHisEyesOpen@lemmy.mlEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        And the vast majority of consumers don’t even understand what’s going on, and don’t care. Look at how many people happily download and use the TikTok app, despite evidence that it’s harvesting your biometric data and sending it to a government overseas. They don’t fucking care.