Hello everyone! I saw that disabling JavaScript was good to prevent fingerprinting. However, something’s holding me up from doing so: since only a minority of the Internet users block it, won’t it make me more easy to identify?

Even if it’s harder to load trackers or fingerprinting scripts, what if one manage to load? Will the fact that I disabled JavaScript make me more “unique” ?

Thanks in advance for any help!

  • bjornsno@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    21
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    I mean. Yeah, technically, but go on and try it. Most of the web won’t work for you anymore. And you’ll still be tracked by pixels. You can pair the disablement with a tracker blocker to get those, but then a good blocker also handles fingerprinting scripts, so then what was the point?

    • Pomal@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 day ago

      It’s a technical arms race and good hygiene to review code from untrusted third-parties.

      • ten8tp@reddthat.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 day ago

        Can’t review code if you don’t know how to. Are we meant to throw the source into AI and go, “hey is this safe”? While it may work, the time and effort sometimes isn’t. It’s literally being stuck between a rock and a hard place, so-to-speak. And before anyone says, “well, you should learn code”, I hear you. All due respect to those that can, I’m not taking the time because I don’t have time. I’m surviving from high gas prices, high grocery prices, higher bills (with for-profit companies reporting their best ever profits YOY), and keeping afloat. “Ain’t nobody got time fo dat.”

        • bjornsno@programming.dev
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          1 day ago

          Anyone who knows the first thing about web dev knows this is pointless. The scripts are minified and mangled so far it’s impossible to suss out what they do without hours and hours of deobfuscation per script, and it can often be hundreds of scripts. The only thing you can do is use blockers. They don’t try to understand what the script does, they operate by blocking known stuff and known bad origins.

        • masterspace@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          1 day ago

          Yeah, people don’t seem to realize that their technical solutions don’t matter.

          Tracking and privacy is a problem that can only be solved through legislation and legal means. Big companies have more resources and can work around any technical hurdle you throw up.

          Like they don’t even have to work around them technically… Oh you like the encrypted messenger? It would be a shame if they were able to make it useless by convincing everyone to just use their DM system leaving no one on your encrypted messaging network to talk to, wouldn’t it?

    • Buage_@piefed.socialOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 day ago

      I think that disabling JS is worth the price (imo), that doesn’t annoy me very much Also, I believe tracker blockers can sometime fail to block fingerprinting scripts cause they’re could come from unknown domain