While I once hoped 2017 would be the year of privacy, 2024 closes on a troubling note, a likely decrease in privacy standards across the web. I was surprised by the recent Information Commissioner’s Office post, which criticized Google’s decision to introduce device fingerprinting for advertising purposes from
  • parpol@programming.dev
    29·
    2 days ago

    On a slightly brighter note, It will no doubt bring more attention to fingerprinting which in turn will speed up fingerprint obfuscation development and fingerprinting regulation. It will also add more people to the obfuscated user pool. Right now you are essentially helpless against fingerprinting because so few use obfuscation that you out yourself by using it, so google implementing fingerprinting might actually help people already using obfuscation. Non-JavaScript sites will also rise in demand and a debloating will occur.

    • folkrav@lemmy.ca
      27·
      2 days ago

      I’d love to share your optimism, especially regarding that last sentence. As long as Google controls the most popular web browser out there, I don’t see the arms race ever stopping, they’ll just come up with something else. It wouldn’t be the first time they push towards something nobody asked for that only benefits themselves.

  • bitcrafter@programming.dev
    3·
    2 days ago

    And here I naively had been wondering before reading this article what was so inherently privacy invading about using fingerprints to unlock devices…