PSA on privuhcy
-
This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
This is kinda true but also kinda fear mongering. UTM parameters are just to track where you clicked the link from. They're usually not dynamic, and don't contain anything about you personally. The example in the screenshot
utm_source=newsletteris probably added to all links in a company's newsletter email, so they can tell that people get to the page via the newsletter. -
Not very high priority to remove though. Nothing identfiable in the gran scheme I guess.
Generally, if it's just a plain word or something you can read easily, then it's safe to keep it. If it's a jumble of seemingly random letters, it's probably a tracking code of some sort.
-
This post did not contain any content.
I did not know what those were for before seeing this but I remeber seeing "source=chat_gpt" next to a link to a source in a news article and thought that it was odd.
-
This post did not contain any content.wrote last edited by [email protected]
There are URL shortener Apps on F-Droid. Simple share the link to this app and get a short link without this privacy mess.
-
I use an app called "Leon URL Cleaner" from F-Droid. Does a really good job removing tracking params, and only adds one extra step to sharing a URL.
There's also URLCheck:
-
This post did not contain any content.
Check out this cool video
-
Most of my internetin' is done on mobile, because I'm very rarely at my desk, and when I am, I'm normally working on school. Are there any solutions to handling this easily on mobile without having to manually erase part of the pasted link when I go to send it to someone? A few people have mentioned that's it's not 100% guaranteed that the anything after ? Is worthless, so I don't know how to ensure I'm not breaking a link
Firefox mobile has plenty of add-ons that will just remove it for you
-
This post did not contain any content.
Time to put new privacy laws in place or force politicans to do it
-
This post did not contain any content.
this isn't a shitpost this community is being dragged through the mud by non-shitposts
-
This post did not contain any content.
Everything after the "?" symbol can be removed without issue
https://youtube.com/watch?v=XfELJU1mRMg >>> https://youtube.com/watch
-
this isn't a shitpost this community is being dragged through the mud by non-shitposts
Actually, it's a a bit of a shitpost. Anything after the '?' is an argument for the html request. Can and is used for tracking, but is also used for website functionality.
-
There are URL shortener Apps on F-Droid. Simple share the link to this app and get a short link without this privacy mess.
-
If you're still using firefox, right click -> copy clean link. works most of the time.
edit: on desktop, idk if mobile supports it or not. Good suggestions below though for mobile.
URL Cleaner on f-droid.org is a great app too!
-
There are URL shortener Apps on F-Droid. Simple share the link to this app and get a short link without this privacy mess.
Make sure you choose a proper open source one, else the app might collect data as well...
-
You all got Rick-rolled btw
And you just lost the game
-
So how about when a link is shared on Lemmy or Reddit or FB? Do the latter strip out the identifiers, or does that one person's reshared post associate them with the clicks of thousands of others?
For web links, they'd also be able to find the source from the referrer tags etc
Lemmy removes these (source: i wrote that code)
-
Actually, it's a a bit of a shitpost. Anything after the '?' is an argument for the html request. Can and is used for tracking, but is also used for website functionality.
IMO, any developer who uses URL parameters for required functionality is short sighted. They should use the path as required parameters.
-
This post did not contain any content.
I usually change the parameters to things like utm_source=yourmom, just for kicks.
-
This post did not contain any content.
On iOS / iPadOS , you can use a Siri Shortcut called Clean URLs.
Just share the URL with the shortcut, through the share sheet option, and your clean url is automatically copied into the clipboard.
-
This post did not contain any content.
It’s not always nefarious.
I work for a non-profit. Sometimes it’s helpful to understand the click rate on a mass message.
We don’t provide data to third parties and use a self-hosted oss analytics platform.
So I think folks should understand tracking and manage it but it’s not all bad. Just almost always bad. Really bad.
Worse: a lot of links can’t be fixed or modified since they use click-through services to obscure the destination.
