• Baggins@beehaw.orgEnglish
        17·
        2 years ago

        It can and has. There’s no way I could keep in touch with old army mates. They won’t all move to other platforms. I don’t even know of an alternative for group chats and finding people.

        Unfortunately I have to go along with it. I keep it locked down as much as possible, use it only on Linux desktop etc. But there you go.

          • Baggins@beehaw.orgEnglish
            3·
            2 years ago

            I know these are there - I said so in my post. It does not work when others are on FB and will/can not leave for another platform. None of that is comparable to to FB for group chat, looking for people, swapping pics etc. People may not want their phone number given out (a bit ironic when FB has everything else I know).

            It’s so easy (and dare I say lazy?) to just say ‘FB bad, use phone/Signal/email etc.’ but not offer any real alternatives. Let’s face it, FB has this covered. It’s so simple to get your nan, mate to join because all their friends/relatives/workmates are on it. There’s no shame in admitting that it provides a valuable service for some people.

            • AnAngryAlpaca@lemm.ee
              2·
              2 years ago

              I think it did in the past when FB would show you exclusively posts and pictures from your friends. This is no longer the case, its an advertisement and fake news platform that has long alienated all sane people to the point where they no longer log in or post anything.

              All I see now when I open fb is “shares” from obviously bogus or right wing sources that my not so bright ex classmates or boomer relatives post, or ads.

          • foo@programming.dev
            3·
            2 years ago

            None of which are the same or similar interaction process if they were it never would have taken off

        • BCsven@lemmy.ca
          4·
          2 years ago

          Telegram, discord, mastadon, signal, session, etc there are too many to list

        • ExLisper@linux.communityEnglish
          3·
          2 years ago

          I have a tablet in my kitchen I use while cooking. I have only couple of apps on it, it does not sync my contacts and I don’t use it to browse the web daily. That’s when my WhatsApp client is installed. I still get messages, just not instantly. With Facebook groups you don’t have to be online 24/7, you can just check them from time to time.

        • Leafeytea@beehaw.orgEnglish
          3·
          2 years ago

          Discord is my solution. I made a server, invited my friends in EU and we blab away for hours whenever we want, including video calls. We are happy with it 🙂

          • Baggins@beehaw.orgEnglish
            2·
            2 years ago

            That works for you and friends - fine. It does not work when others are on FB and will/can not leave for another platform.

    • Elderos@lemmings.world
      23·
      2 years ago

      Using weird anonymization techniques will also make you more unique. Disabling JS, running in a VM and having uncommon settings in general will make you very easy to follow around.

      • ShadowRebel@monero.townOP
        4·
        2 years ago

        You can not use Facebook with JS disabled. uBlock Origin is an option to reduce facebook off the platform. Running a VM is an effective strategy for isolation of certain sites. No solution is perfect, nor is it for everyone.

        • Elderos@lemmings.world
          5·
          2 years ago

          You cannot do a whole lot without JS to be honest. My comment was not about Facebook but fingerprinting in general, though I kinda forgot to mention. I suspect finger-tracking strategies are kinda trade secrets so it probably varies. Running a VM still expose your VM settings, which basically let them track your VM around. This is the insidious thing about fingertracking, you can be followed around with spoofed data just as well. The very first time you will login anywhere, whether you use a VM or a VPM everything you touched with those settings will now track back to you.

          • davehtaylor@beehaw.org
            8·
            2 years ago

            You cannot do a whole lot without JS to be honest

            Every time I see people talking about privacy solutions and suggesting to disable and block JS, I’m just completely dumbfounded. It’s not 2005 anymore. Most of the web these days is driven by JS. Nearly every web app you interact with, every site that has dynamic content, etc. all use JS. Disabling it entirely simply is not an option. You can find ways to selectively block certain origins, but that’s it. And trying to run noscript and just whitelisting only the things you absolutely need is a phenomenal amount of work. I know. I used to do it. It got really tiresome. Every single site is broken by default, and then you have to spend 20 minutes trying to find which scripts you have to whitelist to make a site functional.

            I’m not saying this to be defeatist, but to be honest about the kind of work it takes and why we need to find seamless and user-friendly ways to block the kinds of things FB does.

    • raccoona_nongrata@beehaw.org
      12·
      2 years ago

      I feel like being defeatist about this is what FB would want. There are ways to obfuscate yourself though techniques like generating noise or using anti-fingerprinting features that work under the objective of making your print anonymous and generic rather than hiding you completely.

      You can also do things like ask your friends and family to simply not post pictures of you online, your mileage may vary depending on how seriously your friends and relations take your wishes, but it worked for me. And I simply avoid pictures with people I know who don’t care about privacy.

      Any attempt to create private space is worthwhile, even if it doesnt completely hide you you’re still able to learn and better understand how you’re tracked so you can make better decisions and mitigate the problem.

    • moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      4·
      2 years ago

      Of course, as well, you can’t control your friends or family’s habits which are going to upload pictures and other data about you

      At least, it’s illegal in Europe. People have a right on their image.

      • BCsven@lemmy.ca
        4·
        2 years ago

        They have a point, if your run noscript on firefox or trackercontrol on android, almost every website has a facebook script trying to glean data. Dumping facebook is only one step in removing facebook from your life

        • FlowVoid@midwest.socialEnglish
          1·
          2 years ago

          Ok, so if I visit a travel site with a Like button, then Facebook knows someone visited that site.

          Later if I visit a sports site with a Like button, then Facebook knows someone visited that site too.

          But since I don’t let Facebook store cookies on my browser, Facebook still can’t link the first visit to the second one. Or link those visits to any future sites I visit. So how it can serve personalized ads on them?

          • FarceOfWill@infosec.pub
            5·
            2 years ago

            It can link first by IP address, and then by fingerprinting.

            Best to use unlock origin etc. to block all those little buttons. Don’t even connect to their server

      • bluGill@kbin.social
        2·
        2 years ago

        If third parties agree they can send Facebook plenty of information when you visit to figure out who you are.

        • FlowVoid@midwest.socialEnglish
          0·
          2 years ago

          Even sharing information, how do they build a profile without third party cookies?

          For instance, suppose I visit a travel website on Thursday and a sports website on Friday. Even if they work together, how do they figure that the person who visited on Thursday is the same as the person who visited on Friday? And how would Facebook match that when I visit them in order to serve a travel or sports ad?

          If I ban third party cookies, use a VPN, and obfuscate my browser/hardware, then I don’t see how they could build a profile that follows me around the web.