Topic: Facebook Tracking

Apple's new privacy features are causing conflict with Facebook, which relies on user tracking for its advertising business. Adam Curry discusses his switch to Graphene OS on a Google Pixel phone, praising its granular permission controls and lack of Silicon Valley tracking.

Reports indicate that Facebook is collaborating with retail partners like Macy's to track offline, in-store purchases. By linking personal information like phone numbers and emails to transaction data, Facebook allows businesses to target users with ads based on their real-world shopping habits.

Facebook issued a blog post addressing new privacy features in iOS 13 and Android 10 that alert users when apps track their location in the background. The company argues that location tracking is necessary for features like "Find Wi-Fi" and community safety. Privacy advocates recommend deleting the app to prevent precise tracking of daily movements and habits.

The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) presented research showing that over 61% of tested Android apps automatically transfer data to Facebook the moment they are opened. This tracking occurs via the Facebook SDK even if the user does not have a Facebook account. Apps mentioned include Kayak, which reportedly sends entire search queries to Facebook.

Facebook has filed a patent for ultrasonic cross-device tracking, which uses high-frequency tones in TV ads to activate a phone's microphone. In mobile news, the Nokia 8110 "banana phone" is discussed; however, the host expresses disappointment that Google has invested $22 million in its KaiOS operating system. This investment is seen as a move to bring data-tracking apps like YouTube and Maps to simple feature phones.

An analysis of Facebook's massive written response to Congress reveals the extent of their data collection, including mouse movements, battery levels, signal strength, and nearby Wi-Fi beacons. The hosts highlight how Facebook tracks "cross-device" behavior and analyzes the content of photos to serve targeted ads, despite claims of respecting user privacy.

Accessing Facebook via a mobile browser while in Mexico triggered an immediate influx of Spanish-language marketing emails, despite location services being disabled on the device. This event serves as a catalyst for a discussion on the toxic culture within the No Agenda Facebook group and the invasive nature of social media data sharing.

Analysis of over 11,000 Facebook patent applications reveals ambitions to track user activities like walking, cycling, and skiing using smartphone accelerometers. Other patents describe technology to analyze political discourse and estimate locations without using GPS.

Despite the Cambridge Analytica scandal, many millennial users appear indifferent to deleting their Facebook accounts. A host shares an anecdote about his daughter's refusal to leave the platform, noting that even deleted data sometimes remains accessible or is missing from user archives. The discussion highlights the pervasive nature of location tracking on smartphones, which continues even when specific settings are disabled.

An experiment in blocking all browser cookies reveals that most tracking mechanisms do not significantly impact the user experience when disabled. The hosts note that while some services like Google Maps require specific cookies, the vast majority of ad network cookies are unnecessary. They criticize the government's focus on "fair use" of data rather than empowering users to withhold it entirely.