Shareaholic Contains Spyware (opens in new tab)

(shmichael.com)

11 pointsshmichael16y ago10 comments

10 comments

7 comments · 2 top-level

sachinag16y ago· 3 in thread

Did you e-mail the developers before posting this? I mean, it's really kind of mean to post something like this without trying to resolve your issues with the developers directly first. In this case, Jay happened to be around to respond, but you said you wouldn't want to hurt Shareaholic's reputation without being sure. Didn't everyone read Derek Sivers' piece? Screaming on the phone or sending nasty e-mails or posting accusatory blog posts is not the first line of defense; there are other humans involved.

Also, posting it to HN without the question mark in your title was totally bogus.

omergertel16y ago

Technically, I think the title is very accurate. The fact that Shareaholic has an option to turn it off, makes it less sinister, but in my book, collecting my surfing statistic is spying on me. The post states facts, and doesn't bash Shareaholic.

arpitnext16y ago

@sachinag: :( you are wrong. We should appreciate Michael Shynar for discovering this, else Shareaholic never mention this on their Firefox page.

mikasa16y ago

@arpitnext disagree with you, and 100% agree with @sachinag. This could have been handled better by Michael.

meattle16y ago· 2 in thread

Shareaholic for Firefox does not contain any spyware. Privacy is critically important.

The API call that Michael refers to is related to the "Stats Monitor" feature of Shareaholic for Firefox that can be turned off at any time.

The Stats Monitor shows users the Compete.com stats for the page they are on. The API call is intrinsic to the functioning of this feature. For example, only by knowing which web page the user is viewing can the browser tool show the user information about that web page or Web site.

To disable the Stats Monitor, go to "Shareaholic Options" -> Display Options -> Uncheck Stats Monitor.

And, all users are now made aware of this feature upfront:

http://www.shareaholic.com/tools/firefox/welcome http://www.shareaholic.com/tools/firefox/upgrade

The Stats Monitor is only available in Shareaholic for Firefox.

windsurfer16y ago

Isn't an opt-out feature that shares user information by definition spyware?

If not, what is spyware?

tzs16y ago

It's not spyware if it is necessary in order to supply functionality that was advertised for the program. It sounds like that is the case here.

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