Meta devised an ingenious system (“localhost tracking”) that bypassed Android’s sandbox protections to identify you while browsing on your mobile phone — even if you used a VPN, the browser’s incognito mode, and refused or deleted cookies in every session.

This is the process through which Meta (Facebook/Instagram) managed to link what you do in your browser (for example, visiting a news site or an online store) with your real identity (your Facebook or Instagram account), even if you never logged into your account through the browser or anything like that.

Meta accomplishes this through two invisible channels that exchange information:

(i) The Facebook or Instagram app running in the background on your phone, even when you’re not using it.

(ii) Meta’s tracking scripts (the now-pulled illegal brainchild uncovered last week), which operate inside your mobile web browser.

  • NeedyPlatter@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    Same Unfortunately, I use Marketplace for some things and Meta made it damn near impossible to use the browser for posting marketplace listings and responding to DM’s

      • NeedyPlatter@lemmy.ca
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        4 days ago

        Yes, but Facebook has more people so the items I’m selling typically get picked up pretty fast.

        • felsiq@lemmy.zip
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          4 days ago

          This is the problem with the network effect, everybody using marketplace is saying the same thing. I’m not trying to shame you in particular for this or anything but I think it’s important to consider that at some point if we don’t just make the move off anyway, nobody ever will

        • O_R_I_O_N@lemm.ee
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          4 days ago

          That’s a ridiculous assertion. More items that EBay? Where’d you get that idea?

          • Gork@sopuli.xyz
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            4 days ago

            People are generally closer physically in Facebook marketplace compared to the global eBay market.