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0 pointsmort963y ago0 comments

I agree. These companies are making the web a worse experience for all users. I wish they would stop.

At the very least I get the option to not be tracked on those shitty websites, but I would really, really have preferred if they didn't make me go through all those intentionally confusing and probably illegal steps to opt out of tracking.

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6 comments · 2 top-level

fnordpiglet3y ago· 2 in thread

Did providing a pop up on every website you visit saying they use cookies enable your ability to use the accept no cookies feature browsers have had since Netscape navigator? Was a regulation required to enable a feature of all browsers since the dawn of graphical browsers? Or are you saying the regulation allows you to remember that literally every website in existence uses cookies since you forget between websites?

I’m trying to figure out in what way this has made anything better, safer, or whatever? By the way, cookies is like the 1996 way of tracking and those opt outs don’t opt you out of tracking.

So, yeah. Super giant win for regulations there - clicking away useless disclaimers en masse to satisfy some EU bureaucrats poor understanding of technology. I’m sure they got a great post out of it. It’s like the pop up ad that you are required to pop up on every website but no one benefits, not even the website owner. At least a real ad the website owner makes some money.

mort96OP3y ago

I don't want to disable cookies. I want to be able to log in to things, and I'm not happier if the site uses localstorage instead of cookies to track me.

The GDPR doesn't forbid using cookies, by the way. If cookies are used to remember that you logged in using a session cookie, or remember the state of a shopping cart, or stuff like that, no warning is necessary. It's a law which requires consent to tracking, not consent to cookies.

You complain about lawmakers' poor understanding of technology, but I don't think your understanding of law is any better if you think that "every website is forced to show a pop-up". They choose to show a pop-up because they're forced to get consent if they want to track you.

fnordpiglet3y ago

GDPR doesn’t say anything really about cookies, actually. I think you meant ePrivacy.

Fact is most popups inform you about cookie use but don’t give you an option to do jack. And what makes you believe they’re ePrivacy compliant? I’ll bet you 90% of those sites, even when well intentioned, pollute you with tracking cookies anyways.

Edit: by the way no modern website uses cookies to maintain your shopping cart, and instead of relying on a persistent credential cookie, you could just use a password manager to expedite login and be more secure overall. Finally, “private” mode on most browsers contains cookies to short lived session cookies within the tab lifespan.

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hellojesus3y ago· 2 in thread

You always have the option to turn off cookies. There is literally 0 check you have as a user to ensure a company isn't nefariously using cookies despite your preferences. All the law did was force trash pop-ups everywhere.

mort96OP3y ago

I don't want to turn off cookies, I want to be able to log in to things. And the cookie technology isn't the problem, tracking is; if the tracking happens locally using localstorage instead of cookies, I haven't gained anything.

The law didn't force pop-ups anywhere. Some companies chose to put pop-ups on their websites.

hellojesus3y ago

Tracking happens everywhere you take your phone. Bluetooth beacons, apps grabbing data, etc.

The laws don't stop it. They just force it to change shape. It can be stopped by careful consumption.

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6 comments · 2 top-level

fnordpiglet3y ago· 2 in thread

I’m trying to figure out in what way this has made anything better, safer, or whatever? By the way, cookies is like the 1996 way of tracking and those opt outs don’t opt you out of tracking.

mort96OP3y ago

I don't want to disable cookies. I want to be able to log in to things, and I'm not happier if the site uses localstorage instead of cookies to track me.

fnordpiglet3y ago

GDPR doesn’t say anything really about cookies, actually. I think you meant ePrivacy.

1 more reply

hellojesus3y ago· 2 in thread

mort96OP3y ago

The law didn't force pop-ups anywhere. Some companies chose to put pop-ups on their websites.

hellojesus3y ago

Tracking happens everywhere you take your phone. Bluetooth beacons, apps grabbing data, etc.

The laws don't stop it. They just force it to change shape. It can be stopped by careful consumption.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse