Even before the events of the last weeks I didn't like that you load a Script from connect.facebook.com when loading any of the ifixit.com sites.
I take the events of the last weeks as motivation to ask you to remove any unnecessary Facebook Scripts.
On that note, you could also make yourself more independent from Google.
Google has very strict security policies. facebook I understand your worries, but we would have a lot of problems with users who use their yahoo, google or facebook account not being able to log in. their ifixit accounts are connected to the service they log in with (if any). for example, for me to login I use my google account. if ifixit were to cut ties with google I would have a problem and so would other users using external accounts. I cannot log in without my google account due to google's Oauth security thing. basically doing this we will be kicking a huge number of new and old users alike. So, I'm not sure if that is exactly possible. but I'm not an admin/staff around here, so you can see what they say.
I hear you - Cambridge Analytica has made me seriously consider deleting my Facebook account. I've thought about it before but this incident is the final straw and it's no longer a 10 minute thought about doing it that goes away. If it gets any worse, it's very likely I'm going to delete my Facebook and never come back.
That being said, one option you can use is an ad blocker that allows you to block tracking scripts like Adguard or a tracking blocker like Blur, which is what I use.
Hi @timeslapsey,
We use the Facebook Pixel to measure the success of our Facebook posts and to effectively market our products on Facebook. If we weren't able to participate in targeted marketing, we simply wouldn't be able to cost-effectively market on the Facebook platform. And that's a big problem for a company funded by e-commerce! Facebook betrayed the trust of their users with sloppy and insecure profile data handling. And while we don't think the Facebook Pixel data is nearly as sensitive, we are disturbed by Facebook's mistakes and will watch the situation closely. Here's Facebook's page on their pixel tracking.
Facebook's Pixel and Google Analytics are valuable tools for us. They help us remain an effective and competitive company. All of the content we host or create on iFixit is funded entirely by our part and tool sales. We don't have ads on iFixit and we don't have any outside funding. If we did run ads, we'd have a lot more intrusive Javascript on the site. We're fortunate that selling products allows us to keep external data sharing to a minimum.
You can see everything we track (and choose which trackers to block) by using a Chrome extension like Ghostery (which I use). No functionality on iFixit (except Login with Facebook) will be degraded by blocking Facebook. Or you can follow Facebook's guide on how to opt-out of advertising.
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I take it one step further and run NoScript alongside Blur, which I distrust trackers on so they can't run to begin with.
It causes a few minor headaches with iFixit but I've figured out which scripts are required and the ones that are trackers that can be distrusted. As far as I can really tell all you really need is the main iFixit script and the Cloudfront scripts; the rest aren't needed. While it works to limit the tracking, it's not something I'd recommend to a novice but anyone who is competent should be able to run a tracker blocker and NoScript to kill some trackers before they even have a chance to run.
by Nick
@kyle @timeslapsey @avanteguarde @captainsnowball @nick just a quick interjection. Do we not take responsibility for this as well? How much of this is our own fault? Trust needs to be deserved and at what point did Facebook do this? I don't think it ever did. It did not say it was going to protect our data. So how much of our "data did we need to post for companies to mine? Are we not aware that if Facebook does not charge, does not have a product but lured billions of people to participate, that we then must be the product? It is our data that was for sale and turned a giant profit for Facebook.
Anyhow, no issue on my part with the Facebook Like-button on iFixit.
by oldturkey03
I think the issue many people have is that they willingly sanctioned the abuse. Yeah we expect then to sell it but we also expect it to be done responsibly.
The issue I have isn't the data. The issue I have is they didn't audit them, didn't demand anything backing they deleted it and effectively washed their hands of it without caring who abuses it. It should have been handled correctly when it first happened.
by Nick
I mean, maybe allow users to opt out from data collection.
by Aiden
Trust but verify. Nobody is going to protect your data as well as you do yourself. We provided them with the product and they sold it to the highest bidder without any scruples. Did we expect anything different? Ethics? Integrity? I doubt it. The best protection is to provide as limited data as possible. Why would I post stuff online that I do not want my neighbors to know ;-)?
Ever thought of the reason why iFixit has a following? Because no ad's, no spam, no BS. They have to make money as well but here it gets done by selling a real product. We have to make sure that this continues and spread teh message on where to go for parts and advice. Why should we refer to ebay Amazon etc. if iFixit does a much better job. Anyhow, time to not use FB anymore. Oh wait, I haven't anyway :-)
by oldturkey03
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I am fully aware of such programs as Ghostery. Personally I use uBlock Matrix, which is the only reason I am aware of the script.
While it's great that there is a way to mitigate loading scripts and that we are all aware of these ways, I am not able to have these add-ons available at all times. Since I don't see a 'Login with Facebook'-Option I am not sure if it really is necessary.
by Placeholder