Facebook, Amazon and Firefox

[Sauron]

So I have a question about how Firefox works.

I've been seeing my Amazon browsing showing up as advertising in my Facebook feed. It's pretty annoying and a little creepy. I have not given Amazon permission to do this, or granted the Amazon app any rights in Facebook.

I've seen the same thing with Expedia showing up in my Facebook feed. Trips I am planning in Expedia start showing me destination-related restaurants or other attractions in Facebook. The only common element that I can find is that I tend to always use Firefox, and sometimes they might be in adjoining browser tabs.

Could this be cross-pollination be happening in the browser instead? Does an application in one Firefox tab have access to any other tabs, and whatever websites are there?

Would in private browsing block this?

Thanks for any info.

[Ensign Steve]

You gotta disable "third-party" cookies.

Enable and disable cookies that websites use to track your preferences | Firefox Help

Disable third-party cookies in Firefox to stop some types of tracking by advertisers | Firefox Help

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by Sauron

So I have a question about how Firefox works.

I've been seeing my Amazon browsing showing up as advertising in my Facebook feed. It's pretty annoying and a little creepy. I have not given Amazon permission to do this, or granted the Amazon app any rights in Facebook.

I've seen the same thing with Expedia showing up in my Facebook feed. Trips I am planning in Expedia start showing me destination-related restaurants or other attractions in Facebook. The only common element that I can find is that I tend to always use Firefox, and sometimes they might be in adjoining browser tabs.

Could this be cross-pollination be happening in the browser instead? Does an application in one Firefox tab have access to any other tabs, and whatever websites are there?

Would in private browsing block this?

Thanks for any info.

I only have way, way out of date information when it comes to web technologies, so I can only make a reasonable guess. I'll make that guess if no one else chimes in.

[Sauron]

Okay I'll check if I have done that or not.

I'm also using AdBlock Plus to prevent annoying ads and reduce tracking, etc. Not sure if that matters.

[The Man]

Installing Privacy Badger will probably also disable this behaviour, as well as plenty of other questionable behaviour. I have it installed on all my computers' browsers (as far as I know, there is no mobile version).

[JoeP]

I haven't mastered Privacy Badger, or it isn't that easy a solution - I have to disable on several sites (can't remember which) or they just don't function.

Disabling third-party cookies is a good thing.

The other things I do are:
- set Firefox to keep cookies until I close Firefox (not until they expire) - and I make exceptions for a handful of sites where I actually want them to remember things about me. I recommend this.
- don't stay signed in to Google (this doesn't do anything about cookies but still)
- use a different Firefox profile for Facebook. This is a bit of work to set up, but I use multiple profiles for other reasons
- use Chrome for some Google sites which don't play nicely with Firefox, or my Firefox extensions or settings, or whatever it's just easier. And then close it.

[The Man]

Yeah, some sites don't function properly unless you disable some of Privacy Badger's functionality (though I can't think of any I use where that was the case except for Disqus, but I'm sure there are others). It's really just as simple as flicking a switch, though, so I don't find it to be a particularly big deal.

I'm also thinking of installing NoScript.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by The Man

I'm also thinking of installing NoScript.

I thought everybody used NoScript already

In fact I run it in open mode ("scripts allowed globally (dangerous)" ) and only block sites that seem to cause troubles.

[Ensign Steve]

I hope you got your issues worked out Sauron, cuz I'm hijacking this thrad!



Now let's dump all our funny and not-so-funny directed marketing shit, kay?



You buy one novelty t-shirt for a fucking costume, and suddenly Amazon thinks you have the world's stupidest taste.

[lisarea]

Just a coincidence that you posted your wish list just in time for last minute Christmas shopping, I'm sure.

[Ensign Steve]

Facebook keeps telling me it's okay not to want kids.

No shit, Sherlock!

Still, good algorithm, tho. Better than bugging me with babby-related shit.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Popular New Amazon Service Just Comes To Your House And Kills You

[The Man]

(To be fair it's probably Kinja's fault. The Onion's titles have been fucked up since The A.V. Club switched over.)

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

General enough for this:

Mind your opsec ladies! (and gents if you care) 2nd review video this month I've been able to pull an address off a few frames of the shipping label during unboxing. Cut off the *whole* label including all barcodes before you shoot even if the label is facing away from the camera

— Naomi Wu (@RealSexyCyborg) December 17, 2017

[MonCapitan2002]

The best solution I think is to never, ever use Facebook under any circumstances. It makes no sense to me that people even use such a malicious site.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Most importantly, read the comments:

Why Amazon delivers small things in huge boxes occasionally pic.twitter.com/Qhtbnc5g6w

— Alexander Savin (@alexsavinme) December 26, 2017

This is apparently bollocks.

[lisarea]

It's plausible bollocks, though, as long as you don't think about it too hard.

I was just thinking about this recently, watching people blaming the election on Reddit, which, hey, I don't like Reddit, either, but it was weird how they glossed right over Facebook and Twitter. Any time you have a bunch of random goombahs discussing things, you're going to get confident, plausible bullshit explanations like this, but overall, Reddit is a hell of a lot better at correcting than Facebook at least, because there's a better chance that someone will come along and correct them. You can put all kinds of bullshit on Facebook targeted to small, credulous audiences with much less chance that there's someone there to rebut it.

[Ari]

This shit is how we get religions!
Amazon is all right and knowing, but I got my iPhone in a giant box, clearly there's a purpose to this madness! I shall think very hard on it now.

Reality: It's all madness! I have no small boxes and I must pee, but if I step away for even a second the cold heartless system will eliminate me!

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Amazon Knows Alexa Devices Are Laughing Spontaneously And It's "Working To Fix It"

[Crumb]

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Maybe mention Twitter in here too:

TWITTER: Hey, I'm getting death threats and stuff.@JACK: ��*♂️

FAR-RIGHT PERSON: Um, how dare you say I'm far-right?@JACK: Oh my goodness, I'll fix this at once. I am so so so sorry for accurately labeling your political views. How can I make this better? Allow me to fix it. pic.twitter.com/RvsCw85lyO

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) April 27, 2018

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Amazon's Alexa recorded private conversation and sent it to random contact | Technology | The Guardian

Whoops.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Add the above to:

Meet the dominatrix living inside an Echo Dot

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Three Panel Soul - Room to Grow

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Celebrating Prime Day Results, Bezos awards all robots one extra squeeze of oil - The Beaverton

Watched by assembled staff, Bezos ceremoniously administered the lube to a robot that plucks dehydrated human pickers from the packing room floor and deposits them at the unemployment office.