What?
uBO absolutely helps against tracking. It is at least half of its reason for existing.
The two primary lists are an (1) an ad block list (2) an anti-tracking list.
And used in medium or hard mode uBO categorically blocks many methods of tracking.
But also, if you use Firefox, this is layered on top of Enhanced tracking protection, blocking of 3p tracking cookies, and total cookie protection (dfpi)
Tbf most consumers hate all customer service.
While I’d prefer to just speak to a human, I’d much prefer AI over the status quo of dead dumb automated systems that just keep looping through the same preset options until you get enraged and give up or mash zero
Not me. I was interested in the tech and innovations that underlie cryptocurrency since the early 2010s and I’ve disliked and distrusted Musk for as long as I can remember.
At that time the reddit hive mind loved Musk and was positive towards crypto, now the Reddit Hive mind has realized they actually hate musk and categorically hate crypto. My views haven’t changed (Musk is a shitty narcissistic human, and crypto solves some useful problems despite a deserved reputation for attracting a lot of scammy projects and people).
Considering that in this analogy you’d be asking the mugger to be your protector it is still unreasonable.
Particularly considering there are plenty of reputable and privacy respecting vpn providers
Yeah voluntarily using a VPN from Google (the largest tracking and Adtech company), is like voluntarily seeking out Mob “protection”
I think Konquerer is no longer actively maintained.
Fun fact (which you may already know) the two most popular browser engines today are based on KHTML)
Google is in the process of undermining the effectiveness of uBlock Origin and other adblockers on Chrome and other Chromium browsers. I believe that change comes into effect this year.
But even before those changes were announced, uBlock Origin’s creator and main dev has stated that uBO is most capable on Firefox.
I just wish that a free-speech-absolutist-billionaire would buy the platform so things like this wouldn’t happen anymore. He could even rename it something cool (like ‘Y’ or ‘Z’) to get some street-cred with edgy middleschoolers…
If you form your understanding on topics you don’t understand based on what “gatekeeping morons” think or do, you are going to be perpetually misinformed
You can use a second router and pass through the WAN. It’s a bit complicated to explain in a comment, but it’s also not too difficult. Is your ISP ATT?
NextDNS and pihole serve the same purpose and are redundant. Personally I prefer NextDNS but it wouldn’t make sense in ops meme
Pihole is a great project, but it is objectively less capable than uBlock Origin.
That is not a criticism of the software. It is just a fundamental fact that DNS based adblockers are less powerful, and less granular/precise than Browser based adblockers.
They do work well in combination though (the DNS level adblockers gives you moderately effective network wide blocking, and uBlock Origin gives you exceptional blocking but is limited to the browser.
Flatpak is not designed to solve all the same problems as snap they have very different scopes and goals. It’s really only Linux hobbyists that see these as comparable technologies.
Also the Steam flatpak is unofficial just like the snap, they would be unwilling to support flatpak issues as well.
To be fair, the so called “”cheese”” inside the plastic wrap is probably mostly plastic / petro product as welll…
Some of those alternative “YouTube” apps are not limited to YouTube as a backend/source of content. I don’t recall if it’s freetube, new pipe or both that allow using Peertube and YouTube from the same app, which helps bridge the gap in content / ease the transition from an end user perspective.
What you are feeling is natural and relatable. You need to find a balance and define your threat model.
Privacy maximalism and/or FOSS maximalism etc is natural impulse when you first begin to grasp just how quietly exploitive, invasive, and commoditized the modern internet is. But it also leads to burnout and can be isolating if you are too rigid about it.
Define your threat model, and your priorities. Accept that perfection is not attainable and do the best you can. It’s less overwhelming.
My advice:
I agree with your critique of both the algorithms today and the often relatively low-effort, unoriginal, self-interested, and self-absorbed people that tend to rise to the top of these systems. (While still acknowledging there is a lot of great content as well)
I try my best not to let the Algos shape/direct my viewing.
With respect to YouTube, I:
It’s certainly not a perfect approach, but it does a lot to focus my attention on things I actually care about and minimize the effect the algorithm has on what I see or view.
That’s true, but this feature doesn’t involve your browser tracking you or profiling you. It only relates to anttribution. And if you don’t trust that, it’s an easy 1-click opt out.
There is a good high level explainer here: https://andrewmoore.ca/blog/post/mozilla-ppa/