Published 2025-02-12
tag(s): #yell-at-cloud #failures
Earlier today I read this very interesting article about how we all are being location
tracked: Everyone knows
your location: tracking myself down through in-app ads.
(Got there via a post in https://localghost.dev/, which
is in my bookmarks).
A major driver in my jump from Android to iPhone was privacy concerns. As I decided to finally
make a change in my internet habits, ditching services and platforms left and right, using an
Android phone was kind of a big red flag.
Initially I didn't want an iPhone, and considered other options seriously (like, going dumb
phone, or using a Linux phone). Eventually I relented, and figured an iPhone was the best
compromise between "usability" and "better at privacy". Like I mentioned in the
past, when reviewing other
Apple products, I don't believe for second they are that much nicer than other companies.
If they do better in the privacy department, is not out of moral superiority, but simply
because they can use it as a selling point.
But as seen in the article above, through the ad ecosystem, even when we "Ask App Not To
Track", tons of our information is collected. All to micro-target each one of us to keep us
consuming...
I remember how I used to read in the newspaper[1], when I was 11~13, these
translated articles from Nicholas Negroponte, about how great the "information superhighway"
was going to be and we were in the verge of a new era of knowledge sharing and...here we are.
All of us spied on, just to get an ad in front of us that we might click/tap, while the same
information can, and probably will be (or already is) used for nefarious purposes...anyway,
back to the topic at hand =/
The first thought I had after finishing the article was, "was it all for naught?". Apple is notoriously anti-consumer, not particularly friendly towards open source...honestly all they had going to them was the privacy angle, I don't even find iOS attractive or nice to use.
The second thing I did was verify if any app I use was on the list linked in the article. I try to install as few things as possible, so it was fast. And actually there was only one: FotMob. I had toyed with the idea of paying the 15 dollars a year subscription before, and this was the final push. This removes ads, and my intention has been to pay for services I use, so...it was about time.
About the post title...I learned about this phrase in the distant past, when I was a lurker in the GameFAQs message boards.[2]. Lately I've been remembering a lot of lingo and inside jokes from those old times. Side effect of getting old, I guess?