I use LibreWolf and maximum protection just for FB and similar web pages, and Firefox for normal browsing or other safe sites and my problem is solved.
If it’s showing at the bottom of the browser, then the browser thinks the link is a regular link, but clicking or copying it may invoke some JavaScript that either manipulates the link or simply redirects to the tracker site after an onClick event. I’d like to see this for my own curiosity. If my thought is correct, then there should be some way to disable that specific method call with uBlock or some other mechanism. I’m curious what happens with a text based browser or screen reader type browser. You could also trace the JavaScript and see what’s happening. If this is really happening with the big social media sites, it’s just a matter of time until a plugin is developed to correct the behavior.
I’m gonna sound like a dick who didn’t really address the intended question, but why use those sites? Not being on corporate social media solves the problem. I know that doesn’t work for a lot of people, so apologies to those folks.
There’s an extension for Firefox and maybe Chrome that should help. I think it’s called ClearURL, or something similar. It removes the trackers from the ends of URLs
EDIT: That’s assuming that it’s a legitimate tracking URL, and not something that’s been added by malware.
I don’t have an extention on FF but whenever I copy a link there’s an option to also copy clean link. I’m not home, but I believe this is associated with my search engine being SearXNG.
The only reason I didn’t mention it is because it’s for copying links, whereas the extension should do it while opening, without needing to copy it first.
These are not tracking links in the conventional sense where they append tracking data to the legitimate link. They just hijack the link that someone else posts and replace it with an entirely new tracking link with a l.facebook.com domain.
No link cleaning software I have found works because of this.
The site itself; Facebook, Reddit, or Twitter sends you to a subdomain that then redirects you to the link you clicked. Sometimes used to check the url and warn you if it's malicious or if it's linking to another website, but it's usually used for tracking as well.
They just hijack the link that someone else posts and replace it with an entirely new tracking link with a l.facebook.com domain
This bit confused me. I thought OP meant that it was the same link every time. The downside of text based forums like this - it removes a lot of nuance and leaves room for misunderstanding.
try SkipRedirect, can break some things though, but rare.
Only works for hijacked links where the extension can grab the original link somehow of course.
For general Ad Links, there is FastForward, though i feel it hasnt been on the same level of maintenance since UniversalBypass closed down and they forked it.
Not really going to justify my usage but suffice it to say my business is largely dependent on networking with the people who are active on social media.
Twitter and Reddit I am “read only” via Stealth and Squawker.
Its a private company and whatever their users post is their property so they can do anything they want with it. As someone else suggested to stop using Facebook, if you can’t then please stop complaining.
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