For reliable results today it is essential to use several search engines. The one who crawls the web the longest is Google, it is therefore advisable to use search engines that use this engine, such as Whoogle or Startpage.
Even so, it is also necessary to use search engines with alternative engines, such as DDG (Bing), or search engines with several engines, such as Mojeek or MetaGer, which use their own crawlers, such as Groot or AstianGo.
Search engines that use AI are also now proliferating, but, although practical, so far none are truly privacy oriented, with one exception, the one that was the first to use this technique with AI, Andisearch, which uses its own language model, not logs, no ads, no tracking, anonymous.
You search, although more private than others, requires activating privacy in the settings, also questionable due to its other AI functionalities that it incorporates, apart from the registration requirement to use them.
or search engines with several engines, such as Mojeek or MetaGer
Just a flag, we don’t use several engines, all Mojeek is Mojeek, you might be conflating this with Search Choices. AstianGO seems to be inaccessible now, but it wasn’t an own-index search engine,
Oof, bad timing for that name selection. Especially with payment processing.
The invitation method is interesting, but will likely be its limiting factor vs its draw. Regular Jane/Joe wants to share their username, just not their number or email. Not being able to share verbally is tough.
i like the whole concept but it seamed to good to be true and not some type of backdoored honeypot, ill guess ill check it out when enough people reviewed the sourcecode
As long as Mozilla has a contract with Google, it will continue to share data with Alphabet Inc. Firefox or forks are OK, but only if you use it without the sync function, or use another provider that doesn’t share the data with others. Although Mozilla encrypts the synced data, the necessary account data is shared and used by Google to track those.
Are you saying Firefox shares data to Alphabet beyond Google as the default search engine? If so and if it applies to Sync (as if the question from OP here) can you please share sources for that?
Firefox don’t share data, well, if you don’t use the default Google search, but Mozilla does, sharing your account data. I hope that they finish the contract with Google, as they said, this Year.
Mozilla pays for a premium subscription to Google Analytics, which allows them to opt out of data usage by Google. So, obviously Google still aggregates the data, but only for providing reports to Mozilla. Google may not use the data for their own user analysis/tracking, as they would do without the premium subscription. Otherwise, Google would be in breach of contract, which would be an easy lawsuit with high punishment for Google.
I’m not disputing the results, but this appears to be checking calls made by Firefox’s website (www.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox/) and not Firefox, the web browser application. Just because an application’s website uses Google Analytics does not mean that the application shares user data with Google.
What do you think what googleanalytics and googletagmanager do and who logs this datas? Only Mozilla? And yes, as said before, Firefox is OK, but not so with an Mozilla account, with which Google said “come to Daddy”. I hope that Mozilla, as promised, can end this year the contract with Google.
The analytics trackers that you mentioned would fall under Mozilla’s Websites Privacy Policy, which does state that it uses Google Analytics and can be easily verified a number of ways such as the services you previously listed.
However, Firefox sync uses accounts.firefox.com which has its own Privacy Policy. There is some confusion around “Firefox Accounts” as it was rebranded to “Mozilla Accounts”, which again has its own Privacy Policy. There is no indication that data covered by those policies are shared with Google. If Google Analytics trackers on Mozilla’s website are still a concern for these services, you can verify that the Firefox Accounts and Mozilla Accounts URLs do not contain any Google Analytics trackers.
Firefox has a Privacy Policy as well. Firefox’s Privacy Policy has sections for both Mozilla Accounts and Sync. Neither of which indicate that data is shared with Google. Additionally, the data stored via the Sync service is encrypted. However, there is some telemetry data that Mozilla collects regarding Sync and more information about it can be found on Mozilla’s documentation about telemetry for Sync.
The only thing that I could find about Firefox, Sync, or Firefox Accounts/Mozilla Accounts sharing data with Google was for location services within Firefox. While it would be nice for Firefox not to use Google’s geolocation services, it is a reasonable concession and can be disabled.
Mozilla is most definitely not a perfect company, even when it comes to privacy. Even Firefox has been caught with some privacy issues relatively recently with the unique installation ID.
Again, I’m not saying that Mozilla is doing nothing wrong. I am saying that your “evidence” that Mozilla is sharing Firefox, Sync, or Firefox Accounts/Mozilla Accounts data with Google because of Google Analytics trackers on some of Mozilla’s websites is coincidental at best. Without additional evidence, it is misleading or flat out wrong.
Don’t get me wrong, Mozilla does a lot for user privacy and is certainly one of the most reliable alternatives for a user among the existing browsers. I’m just seeing that Mozilla has unfortunately made a contract with the Devil that prevents it from having the full freedom of protection that it would like. Mozilla deserves the independence of this company, which, at the moment, it does not have, which is why I said that I wish it could end this contract.
I use several browsers, but the list of existing ones with certain capabilities and functionalities is getting small.
Edge is technically a good browser, but certainly not recommended for those who appreciate privacy,
Chrome users could ask Google to write their resume directly,
Opera is perhaps the worst, using trackers that distribute your data to half the internet,
Safari It is not much better either and it is also becoming the new IE with its desire to stay with an engine that is becoming obsolete,
Brave is unreliable due to its business with shady crypto companies and the intentional redirections to them and excluding investors from the protections against trackers, Facebook among them,
Otter is an alternative, but fighting for its survival, which makes it not very reliable in the long term,
the same with some Gecko and Chromium marginal forks, which either lack sufficient equipment for sufficient maintenance, They are directly outdated or lack a consistent support community, - Mullvad browser is very private, yes, but it completely lacks the minimum functions for customization or modification, practically a Firefox left in its bones with 4 sections in the settings.
SSuite Netsurf, very fast and beautiful, but not very configurable, it does not even allow you to change the Groot search engine, which on the other hand is good and private, it also does not have extensions, only an Adblocker that it incorporates and it is also only for Windows, the only plus its extraordinary speed and that it works even on very old Windows (>XP) with few resources.
Well, there’s not much left, Firefox, Vivaldi, maybe Otter (if you want speed) and Mullvad, to choose from. The big companies are really destroying a free internet in their greed to control everything and using the user as raw material and merchandise for this. Tough times if we don’t manage to stop them. More than 70 browsers have already fallen by the wayside, discontinued and abandoned in this “browser war”
Are you saying Firefox shares data to Alphabet beyond Google as the default search engine? If so and if it applies to Sync (as if the question from OP here) can you please share sources for that?
You stated:
Mozilla does, sharing your account data
You also provided evidence that Mozilla uses Google Analytics trackers on the Firefox’s product information website. I mentioned that it’s not sufficient evidence of your claim as the trackers are independent of Firefox the browser and Sync. Additionally, the use of trackers for websites is clearly identified on Mozilla’s Privacy Policies and there is not much else mentioned on the Privacy Policies outside of those trackers and Google’s geolocation services in Firefox.
You’ve also mentioned Google’s contract with Mozilla, which is controversial for many people, but isn’t evidence of Mozilla providing user data to Google even in conjunction with the previously mentioned trackers. You then discussed various other browsers, but I’m not sure how that is relevant to your initial claim.
While it seems we can both agree that Mozilla and it’s products are far from perfect, it is looking like your initial claim was baseless as you have yet to provide any evidence of your initial claim. Do you have any evidence through things like code reviews or packet inspections of Firefox or Sync that hints Mozilla is sharing additional information to Google? At this point, I would even accept a user(s) providing evidence of some weird behavior like the recent issue where google.com wouldn’t load in Firefox on Android if someone could find a way to connect the weird behavior to Mozilla sharing data with Google.
Indeed, thanks for the mention because I wanted to go back on this. I wouldn’t quality any of this as evidence of Sync sharing usage data. Everything else is still correct, i.e defaulting to Google as search engine, some analytics, etc but it’s still unrelated to Sync. I don’t see how other browsers are relevant. It looks like they and OP are trying to show that Mozilla is not perfect, that they make money and share some private data and thus assume that any data used on any Mozilla product is shared with 3rd parties, including Alphabet, without providing any evidence for that. I’m not sure arguing more will help.
Speaking as someone who worked for a corporate auto maker, it won’t be an easy task since they try to make it as difficult as possible to disable online activation if even providing the ability at all.
The only real solution is pulling the head unit and trying to find any modem and desolder it, which who knows if it would function as it had before hand since everything is integrated.
When I worked on auto-maker on the head units, they were integrated on the chip, the ones that had a sim slot where you can insert and extract it were the ones for development. Recent cars, their GPS and screen media menus uses the Linux inside the modem chip.
Sounds a lot like a smartphone where one SoC chip does pretty much everything… CPU, cell modem, WiFi, USB host/device switching, quick charge, the whole lot 😢
Unless you get an expensive car, I think they do that to reduce expenses. Expensive cars have dedicated CPU for that, but they still communicate with the head unit for online data.
Or just put a power test attentuator on the antenna output.
It essentially absorbs the RF from the antenna and radiates it as heat. Since cell is pretty low power (1/2 watt max, IIRC), and a cell radio will stop trying to transmit after a while (though it will try again), I don’t think it would cause any problems.
The newer cars from the company I worked for were always trying to phone home, not sure about other companies but this one was trying to lock you into the online ecosystem.
Your best bet is to find a car where its easiest to disable the antenna/cellular modem for, so look for a car that has a fuse for the DCM(digital communications module) you can pull, as having it be a fuse means you can readily reconnect it should you need to, try to find its schematic online, or find the repair manual for the car or use a car maintenance program,
Apparently its also possible to call the car company and ask for an opt out when serviced,
I vaguely remember some people experimenting with replacing the head unit with aftermarket ones, but no idea how well that would actually go in practice
I vaguely remember some people experimenting with replacing the head unit with aftermarket ones, but no idea how well that would actually go in practice
This varies wildly from manufacturer to manufacturer and even year to year. For example, GM cars used to route damn near everything through the entertainment unit, so that was your central computer. Cell antenna, on star control panel, every that phoned home. That was as recently as mid 2010s. It also led to hilarious problems where a relatively simple issue like an OnStar button not working well required a complete replacement of the stereo unit (which was $8k or so in parts and labor). Now that instrument clusters are doing more while also getting more diagnostic and digital, things are transitioning to a more centralized computing system somewhere else. This can make it easier OR more difficult to get around, depends on design.
For other brands it’s borderline impossible to even use an aftermarket system. Mazdas for example the entire infotainment system relies on itself. There’s nowhere to even put a traditional aftermarket. I’m sure it’s possible, but the design of the interior is completely based around the infotainment unit.
It’s entirely dependent on what car you buy, they’re all different. On some cars it’s integral to the ECU or some other component. On other cars like my Subaru it’s a box you just remove, then you’ll need a custom harness to make the speaker audio work again.
Without saying what car it is nobody can help you without saying “just unplug it”.
I know nothing about the i20 since we don’t get it here, but looks like on Hyundais you’ll most likely have to pull the entire factory radio and replace it with an aftermarket one. I believe on my friends Veloster it was a distinct module, but that one was 2g only and since 2g is dead it’s not really doing much.
Maybe if you’re lucky and it’s like my Subaru you can pull the radio, find that BlueLink is it’s own distinct module and just remove it. You’ll most likely have the same issue as me where your speakers and mic won’t work unless you build a custom adapter. I didn’t build my own adapter I found a guy online who does radio harnesses for aftermarket radios and he made a basic adapter for like $20, and a fancy one that lets my mic work for like $100.
Interesting question. IMHO you’re right: if you reject 3rd party cookies at browser level, so “accepting” them from the GDPR form shouldn’t really matter. Plus, many browsers nowadays forbid 3rd party websites to access cookies from other websites (in my understanding)…
I’d like someone with a more deep knowledge to contribute to the discussion.
What they’re actually asking for is consent to process your data for profit in unethical ways. That usually involves cookies but could theoretically be done entirely without. They’re just a technological standard.
You might aswell say: “We use https. [consent] [settings]”
Agreed. Trust is always a thing on the Internet. And uptime too. searx.be / yewtu.be (From the same person. They posted when their previous provider took them down) has been stable and useful for me for a long time. I do trust Disroot and they have search too : search.disroot.org If it does not work you can complain via their XMPP chat, or file a bug at one of their other services.
What’s your level of trust in their provider, netcup? For instance I would never trust anything hosted at Hetzner and Linode because they’ve been known to intercept traffic.
What’s your level of trust in their provider, netcup? For instance I would never trust anything hosted at Hetzner and Linode because they’ve been known to intercept traffic.
Interesting. Do you have sources for this statement ?
Almost all countries require official authentication to activate a SIM card.
Fortunately not in the Netherlands. I don’t think that’s the case in the rest of the EU. I can use free sim cards as much as I want!
When communicating with cell towers, a phone will also broadcast its unique IMEI identifier. So, even if you swap the SIM card every day, your IMEI is still being broadcast the same.
So… I have a Chinese 4G mobile router, and the manufacturer gives me the permission to change the IMEI as it is an integrated feature of the device. I use that for my data. The data codes I purchase small quantities in bulk with cash, and I can access the router via its ip from my phone’s browser to send the SMS messages to activate the data codes as needed. Since WiFi connections are abundant around here I keep these codes for emergencies. I can go a few months some time without activating data codes. I mostly use them when traveling internationally.
But just now I have done a search and I see many more pocket wifi routers now. Unfortunately I can’t tell you if they work well, or if it is also possible to change their IMEI easily. The one I have is functional, but it doesn’t have a very long battery life.
Boost dev here. There should be an Ad icon on the top right to report the ad. Not sure why it is not showing in this case. I will try to block those ads in the AdMob console. Edit: Done
How about you remove ads entirely like other competing apps do? Until you promise that your app won’t advertise to me nor track me, I have no reason to use it over much better alternatives like Voyager that don’t invade my privacy.
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