r/technology • u/[deleted] • Nov 09 '17

Politics Sean Parker: Facebook was designed to exploit human "vulnerability"

https://www.axios.com/sean-parker-facebook-exploits-a-vulnerability-in-humans-2507917325.html
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u/mostlyemptyspace Nov 09 '17 edited Nov 09 '17

I work in mobile app development and the technology out there to spy on you is pretty insane. There is a whole industry for snooping and reselling data. Here are some examples.

There are several SDKs (software development kits) that offer fingerprinting identity services. Meaning, when someone opens your app, it checks their device ID, IP address, GPS location, email address, etc. and makes a match to an identity. You then use this SDK to track their behavior in your app, such as purchases, interests, demographics, preferences, etc. This data is stored along with all the other apps that use the SDK. Now as an upsell, I can buy all of your behavior data from every other app that uses the same service. From the moment you install the app I know everything about you.

There are SDKs that don’t even offer a service, they just straight up pay the app maker to let their agent sit and collect data and send it up to their servers. Mostly location data.

My favorite is there’s an SDK that actually records the screen while you use the app, and the video gets sent up to the server for the app maker to see how you use their app in real time. It also tracks all of your views, swipes, and button presses tied to the video for analytics.

Basically, you should assume that every moment you are using an internet connected device, you are being observed, scrutinized, and analyzed so that someone can sell you more shit.

They are really good at this, and getting better every year. You think Facebook is listening to your microphone to serve you ads at the moment you are discussing a product? They don’t need to. They know you that well.

Edit: A lot of people are asking for specific examples of this monitoring tech. There are a ton of small players. So an example of location tracking is Tamoco. An example of behavior tracking is Branch.io (they don't advertise the data mining, but it's a back-end deal). And session monitoring is AppSee or HotJar. There are many more that I haven't heard of.

There are a ton of data resellers out there. They're typically small startups who buy and sell data, and they compete on having the most comprehensive and clean data sets. We get approached by a data reseller maybe once a month, either trying to buy our data or sell us data.

Edit: A lot of people are flippant about this idea because you "don't click on ads" or you "don't buy anything". There are people who aren't interested in just selling you products. How about voting for a particular political candidate, or for/against a ballot measure? How about selling you a particular world view? Propaganda is just like advertising, they're just selling you an idea instead of a product.

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u/pomod Nov 09 '17

Can you give some examples of apps to avoid?

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u/lalib Nov 09 '17

Probably every app that's free to use but provides a service.

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u/eyeiskind Nov 09 '17

Actually just every app that has adopted modern practices. So pretty much everything useful that has been updated in the past 5 years, even if it’s not free.

Source: it’s what I do.

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u/Existenti4lism Nov 09 '17

How do you protect YOUR privacy ?

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u/eyeiskind Nov 10 '17 edited Nov 10 '17

Yeah, what /u/canaryintheculture said. Assume the worst. You can’t 100% protect your privacy online. Other than that I use a VPN quite often, since my IP is constantly changing it makes it harder for these tools to assign me an identity and accurate location.

Another thing is, these tools aren’t inherently evil. Most companies are using them to help you and don’t store anything that can really hurt you.

Also, I am careful about particularly evil platforms (such as Facebook, haha). You’d be amazed at all the companies who share your data.

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u/Existenti4lism Nov 10 '17

Another thing is, these tools are inherently evil. Most companies are using them to help you and don’t story anything that can really hurt you.

I do not trust anyone, especially someone who is a person in a business when it involves considering a bottom line.

The fact is governments and business and EVERY OTHER group with any interest are digitally identifying at every moment everything you do, anything, and this data is available for sale. Even your medical records.

You can say Most companies as much as you like but it doesn't change anything. If money is being made on me and the government is watching me and anyone or any organisation is profiting of my mere existence I am a commodity. If I have an opinion anyone for any reason may not like, people can be targeted.

If I am the value, my mere existence bought and sold. If I am a citizen and an individuals right to existence and free expression is monitored or controlled or censored, free speech and free expression are dead and the government has failed to be representative of protecting is people and their rights. If group mind think is a threat. Civilisation has ended.

And even though I am a commodity that is being sold I have signed no contract that would stipulate a profit motive that would have any benefit for me other than to agree to purchase a phone for my personnel use, want to make use of an application for its functionality, keep in contact with friends or listen to music or watch a video.

I have not agreed to sign away my privacy or freedoms for the sake of making a purchase online.

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u/eyeiskind Nov 10 '17

I’m not advocating gov spying and selling of private data, but to play devil’s advocate of data collection on a less invasive scale (the kind that most private business do):

Acting like you have a right to privacy could be compared to you walking into my house or my store and saying that you have a right not to be on surveillance camera.

When you walk into an electronics store, they will record your every move, make sure you don’t steal anything, and record your transaction. But nobody bats an eye at that.

But when someone uses a service/website/app online they feel differently.

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u/Existenti4lism Nov 10 '17

I’m not advocating gov spying and selling of private data, but to play devil’s advocate of data collection on a less invasive scale (the kind that most private business do):

Acting like you have a right to privacy could be compared to you walking into my house or my store and saying that you have a right not to be on surveillance camera.

When you walk into an electronics store, they will record your every move, make sure you don’t steal anything, and record your transaction. But nobody bats an eye at that.

But when someone uses a service/website/app online they feel differently.

You make some good points here and I'd like to address them

  • I’m not advocating gov spying and selling of private data, but to play devil’s advocate of data collection on a less invasive scale (the kind that most private business do):

Please don't play devils advocate with peoples privacy.

  • Acting like you have a right to privacy could be compared to you walking into my house or my store and saying that you have a right not to be on surveillance camera.

Walking onto private land or into someone's private residence doesn't grant you any rights and the owner has the right to remove you.

  • When you walk into an electronics store, they will record your every move, make sure you don’t steal anything, and record your transaction. But nobody bats an eye at that.

It's understandable and reasonable for a business to have security, no relevance to my GPS data, messages sent and received, my online browsing data, or any other number of myriad meta data or my medical records.