Threads usage drops as Meta blocks VPN access in EU::Move comes as Meta tries to avoid violating privacy laws.

  • busturn@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I still hate the fact that the same people who said that no one is going to adopt a whole new social network in regards to mastodon suddenly changed their minds when the zuck made a worse version of it.

  • 󠁀@󠁀FUCKER@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As someone who doesn’t use threads, how does it stand up to something like Lemmy or Reddit? I doubt it’s worth using a VPN to use Threads, but that’s just my assumption.

  • Encode1307@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I’m in the US, and I hate Meta, so this doesn’t impact me, but can you disable location access on your phone to circumvent this?

    • qwen@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      They check your IP address for geofencing, and it’s not something you can “not give a permission to look at”

    • fusion243@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Without a VPN your IP will indicate your location, irrespective of GPS settings. In layman’s terms, a VPN will allow you to appear to be using [in this case] a US IP, regardless of your actual location.

  • macniel@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    Incredible how thirsty europeans for the Zuck are that they bypass good intentioned privacy laws…

    • WolfhoundRO@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Meanwhile I’m so happy being in EU and not having this data-stealer app anywhere in my vicinity for the foreseeable future. Life’s relatively good

  • DarkWasp@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Is it possible for other apps or sites to block VPN access in this way? I was under the impression (possibly incorrectly) that using one would help to avoid such issues.

    • mayumu@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      By using a VPN you are essentially routing your internet traffic through another computer and another ISP. So you have one of the VPN provider’s IP addresses. So what they have to do is find out which IP addresses are used by VPNs and block those. It’s very hard, but for the biggest companies somewhat doable.

    • kambusha@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      It depends on what type of VPN you have as well, because if you have one that gives you a dedicated IP, chances are it wouldn’t be detected. But most of your regular cheap VPN packages will have you sharing the same IP as hundreds (thousands?) of others.

  • stooovie@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    How does that work? IF (VPN detected) THEN (fail)? Do apps even have access to that information?

    Or maybe they have mandatory geolocation, compare that with IP location and if it doesn’t match (=VPN), then refuse to work?

    • Anoxydre [they/them]@jlai.lu
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      1 year ago

      Known VPNs use a limited amount of IP addresses, which result of easily being able to flag them as VPN ones. When a bunch of users (like, hundreds of them) use the same IP address to connect to a given social network, either it is a VPN one, either a company’s CEO might have to put a proxy at the office.