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Updated Ghostery (markdown)

yokoffing
2020-08-08 14:52:49 -04:00
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Ghostery.md
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@@ -32,12 +32,9 @@ Ghostery helps you browse smarter by giving you control over ads and tracking te
* [5.3 I heard Cliqz has shut down. Does that mean Ghostery has too?](https://github.com/yokoffing/Better-Fox/wiki/Ghostery#i-heard-cliqz-has-shut-down-does-that-mean-ghostery-has-too)
* [5.4 Who is Hubert Burda Media?](https://github.com/yokoffing/Better-Fox/wiki/Ghostery#hubert-burda-media-has-a-majority-share-in-the-company-and-old-german-media-companies-have-a-history-of-getting-internet-related-things-wrong---should-we-not-be-worried-about-their-influence-on-the-company)
### Does Ghostery collect and sell my data?
Ghostery neither collects nor sells data about users or trackers. In fact, we even open the insights we have about the tracking landscape via https://whotracks.me/, so that everyone can benefit from it. [^3]
### But I've heard that Ghostery couldn't be trusted...
You might be referring to the pre-2017 era where Ghostery belonged to a company named [Evidon](https://www.ghostery.com/faqs/who-is-evidon/) (which had a business model of collecting and selling data to other companies). It was then acquired by Cliqz (which builds a private and independent search engine as well as privacy-focused browsers). Since then the business model has been dropped, code has been [open-sourced](https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension/) and Ghostery is now exploring ways to monetize through [paid products](https://www.ghostery.com/insights/), as well as client-side offers targeting called [rewards](https://www.ghostery.com/faqs/what-is-ghostery-rewards/). [^2]
***
## Extension Comparisons
### Why would I use Ghostery over uBlock Origin?
[uBlock Origin](http://https://ublockorigin.com) is an amazing extension, no question. There are still differences with Ghostery, though, which would make people use one or the other. Putting the UI aside (some people really like the Ghostery UI and the way it allows to gain insight about what was blocked for example), there are differences in the privacy protection built-in.
@@ -96,38 +93,14 @@ Also, as explained in my original answer, all messages are anonymized and no rec
Last but not least, yes the data you mention is useful for building features that are yet to come. For example, we needed data before we could launch the tracking protection feature few years back. There is a chicken and egg problem. Some seem to be very focused on the data part, without attempting to evaluate if that data compromises the privacy of the users in any way. Sorry, but it is not always the case that data implies lack of privacy, we wrote about it [here](https://0x65.dev/blog/2019-12-02/is-data-collection-evil.html). [^6]
### What is Ghostery Rewards?
Ghostery Rewards is an optional, private-by-design feature that delivers you high-value offers as you browse and make purchases online. Rewards can be viewed, managed, and turned on or off at any time within the Ghostery extension or Ghostery Tab. It is powered by our sister company, [MyOffrz](https://cliqz.com/en/cliqz-angebote).
## Privacy
### Does Ghostery collect and sell my data?
Ghostery neither collects nor sells data about users or trackers. In fact, we even open the insights we have about the tracking landscape via https://whotracks.me/, so that everyone can benefit from it. [^3]
### How does it work?
All Rewards come pre-loaded within your local Ghostery extension, where they remain passive until unlocked. A Reward is unlocked when you complete a set of action triggers that indicate your active interest in making a purchase for which a related offer exists. These triggers funnel potential Rewards based on a set of logic criteria until a match is found and displayed.
### How is my data kept private in this process?
Ghostery Rewards operates locally, meaning it is completely contained within your browser and does not transmit personal information back to Ghostery, Cliqz, or any other third party companies. Because your data never leaves your device, it remains in your possession and under your control – we do not collect, process, or store it centrally on a server. We cannot profile you or share your data with anyone else. In this way, Rewards is fully private-by-design, making it a powerful new way to gain real value by completely anonymous means.
### How is this program different from advertisements?
Firstly, I understand that trust is something that takes time to build, but we try hard to be transparent, by having [all code being open-source](https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension/) and visible to anyone with the time and skills to dig in (and I know not everyone can do it but this is something communities can do collectively; and they already do it, for example on Reddit); and also communicating openly about what we do and how.
Secondly, there is an on-boarding process for this feature. Here I installed Ghostery and on the first visit to a page which could potentially trigger a Reward the following pop-up asks if the user would like to see Rewards in the future or not [(screenshot)](https://imgur.com/a/Tr9Xixv). If the answer is "No", then the feature is disabled. We have also [written about it](https://www.ghostery.com/blog/ghostery-news/ghostery-rewards-beta-rollout/) on our blog. It's also part of the "Custom Setup" flow which is accessible from the Ghostery Hub (opens automatically on install).
Lastly, I'd like to challenge the idea that Rewards are juts like ads on the Web. We really took a different approach here (and this made things much harder for us than if we had taken the "usual" path of advertisement; but this would have been totally incompatible with our values so this was a no-go), put aside the trust issue addressed above, the fact that:
1. Everything happens client-side (there is no server-side aggregation of personal data for targeting or anything like that); the data remains under control of the user, on the device; that's where it belongs.
2. The Rewards are not shown on random pages (like usual ads), but we try to pick the moment where they would be most relevant. This means that they are shown less often and are hopefully more relevant.
3. The location where Rewards are shown is always the same and very predictable (top right of the screen, close to Ghostery menu), this also helps reduce the distraction when compared to ads on website which are usually placed they can capture your attention best (and is also where they are potentially the most annoying for users).
And of course this feature can be disabled, either during the onboarding described above or in the Ghostery settings at any point of time (menu "Opt In / Out"). [^7]
### I'd rather just pay you for your software, and then we can have mutual trust.
This is great to hear, but you are unfortunately part of a tiny minority of users who would like to pay for a privacy-extension or browser. Our past experience shows that most users are not willing to do so, and this is why Reward became a thing. For everyone else, we invest heavily on paid products such as [Ghostery Midnight](https://www.ghostery.com/midnight/) and [Ghostery Insights](https://www.ghostery.com/insights/) so that people who are willing to pay to support us can do so. This is definitely the cleanest and most transparent way to support Ghostery, and we would love if more and more people would pick it.
We will continue to work hard to improve the communication and transparency in the future and your feedback is very helpful in this regard. [^8]
### So if one opts out of the "Rewards" system, no data is collected or stored, neither locally or anywhere else? Or is this data still collected in case user would have a change of mind and turn "Rewards" back on?
This is correct. When opted-out, the Rewards module is completely disabled and no data whatsoever is kept-track-of. The source code does not even run, in fact. [^9]
### But I've heard that Ghostery couldn't be trusted...
You might be referring to the pre-2017 era where Ghostery belonged to a company named [Evidon](https://www.ghostery.com/faqs/who-is-evidon/) (which had a business model of collecting and selling data to other companies). It was then acquired by Cliqz (which builds a private and independent search engine as well as privacy-focused browsers). Since then the business model has been dropped, code has been [open-sourced](https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension/) and Ghostery is now exploring ways to monetize through [paid products](https://www.ghostery.com/insights/), as well as client-side offers targeting called [rewards](https://www.ghostery.com/faqs/what-is-ghostery-rewards/). [^2]
## Human Web
### What is the Human Web?
The Human Web is an open-source technology built by our parent company, Cliqz, that uses the power of anonymous group data create innovative browser technologies to make the internet more private. Users that participate in the Human Web contribute anonymous information related to trackers, websites, and search queries that are then analyzed and evaluated for relevance and safety. This data is used to create anonymous group models that power the private quick-search, anti-tracking, anti-phishing technologies featured in Cliqz products and which will soon be featured in Ghostery.
@@ -171,6 +144,43 @@ Detailing the anti-tracking use case a bit more, these anonymous statistics are
Again, all of this can be turned ON or OFF at any time from settings, but we make sure that **there is no negative privacy side-effect if you don't**. In fact, this helps protect the privacy of users (e.g. **the anti-tracking system described above is made more powerful thanks to statistics contributed by users**). [^15]
### I'm not really comfortable with the supposedly anonymous data being collected from user
Totally fair, not everyone has to be. This is also a tricky matter for us because we have to get some data in order to build a competitive search engine [1]. But we really do not want to collect any personal information at all about users. For this reason, we spent years coming up with a system to achieve this goal: Human Web. We wrote at length about its implementation on our tech blog [2] as well as the network anonymization layer that we built to ensure anonymity at the network level [3] (HPN). [^13]
## Rewards Program
### What is Ghostery Rewards?
Ghostery Rewards is an optional, private-by-design feature that delivers you high-value offers as you browse and make purchases online. Rewards can be viewed, managed, and turned on or off at any time within the Ghostery extension or Ghostery Tab. It is powered by our sister company, [MyOffrz](https://cliqz.com/en/cliqz-angebote).
### How does it work?
All Rewards come pre-loaded within your local Ghostery extension, where they remain passive until unlocked. A Reward is unlocked when you complete a set of action triggers that indicate your active interest in making a purchase for which a related offer exists. These triggers funnel potential Rewards based on a set of logic criteria until a match is found and displayed.
### How is my data kept private in this process?
Ghostery Rewards operates locally, meaning it is completely contained within your browser and does not transmit personal information back to Ghostery, Cliqz, or any other third party companies. Because your data never leaves your device, it remains in your possession and under your control – we do not collect, process, or store it centrally on a server. We cannot profile you or share your data with anyone else. In this way, Rewards is fully private-by-design, making it a powerful new way to gain real value by completely anonymous means.
### How is this program different from advertisements?
Firstly, I understand that trust is something that takes time to build, but we try hard to be transparent, by having [all code being open-source](https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension/) and visible to anyone with the time and skills to dig in (and I know not everyone can do it but this is something communities can do collectively; and they already do it, for example on Reddit); and also communicating openly about what we do and how.
Secondly, there is an on-boarding process for this feature. Here I installed Ghostery and on the first visit to a page which could potentially trigger a Reward the following pop-up asks if the user would like to see Rewards in the future or not [(screenshot)](https://imgur.com/a/Tr9Xixv). If the answer is "No", then the feature is disabled. We have also [written about it](https://www.ghostery.com/blog/ghostery-news/ghostery-rewards-beta-rollout/) on our blog. It's also part of the "Custom Setup" flow which is accessible from the Ghostery Hub (opens automatically on install).
Lastly, I'd like to challenge the idea that Rewards are juts like ads on the Web. We really took a different approach here (and this made things much harder for us than if we had taken the "usual" path of advertisement; but this would have been totally incompatible with our values so this was a no-go), put aside the trust issue addressed above, the fact that:
1. Everything happens client-side (there is no server-side aggregation of personal data for targeting or anything like that); the data remains under control of the user, on the device; that's where it belongs.
2. The Rewards are not shown on random pages (like usual ads), but we try to pick the moment where they would be most relevant. This means that they are shown less often and are hopefully more relevant.
3. The location where Rewards are shown is always the same and very predictable (top right of the screen, close to Ghostery menu), this also helps reduce the distraction when compared to ads on website which are usually placed they can capture your attention best (and is also where they are potentially the most annoying for users).
And of course this feature can be disabled, either during the onboarding described above or in the Ghostery settings at any point of time (menu "Opt In / Out"). [^7]
### I'd rather just pay you for your software, and then we can have mutual trust.
This is great to hear, but you are unfortunately part of a tiny minority of users who would like to pay for a privacy-extension or browser. Our past experience shows that most users are not willing to do so, and this is why Reward became a thing. For everyone else, we invest heavily on paid products such as [Ghostery Midnight](https://www.ghostery.com/midnight/) and [Ghostery Insights](https://www.ghostery.com/insights/) so that people who are willing to pay to support us can do so. This is definitely the cleanest and most transparent way to support Ghostery, and we would love if more and more people would pick it.
We will continue to work hard to improve the communication and transparency in the future and your feedback is very helpful in this regard. [^8]
### So if one opts out of the "Rewards" system, no data is collected or stored, neither locally or anywhere else? Or is this data still collected in case user would have a change of mind and turn "Rewards" back on?
This is correct. When opted-out, the Rewards module is completely disabled and no data whatsoever is kept-track-of. The source code does not even run, in fact. [^9]
## Partners and Owners
### Who is Cliqz?
Cliqz GmbH is a German company owned by Hubert Burda Media who has acquired the popular Ghostery brand and consumer products, including the anti-tracking browser extensions and mobile apps, from Evidon, Inc. Cliqz is a provider of innovative, privacy-focused browser technologies with integrated quick-search functionality. By combining algorithmic and blocklist anti-tracking approaches, Cliqz and Ghostery will together raise the benchmark in privacy protection. The acquisition of Ghostery’s 10 million active users around the globe will spur Cliqz’s international growth. [^11]
@@ -179,9 +189,6 @@ Regarding the experiment, I think it would be more correct to say "Mozilla's exp
We [wrote more about this](https://0x65.dev/blog/2019-12-11/the-pivot-that-excited-mozilla-and-google.html) on our tech blog recently if you are interested. [^12]
### I'm not really comfortable with the supposedly anonymous data being collected from user
Totally fair, not everyone has to be. This is also a tricky matter for us because we have to get some data in order to build a competitive search engine [1]. But we really do not want to collect any personal information at all about users. For this reason, we spent years coming up with a system to achieve this goal: Human Web. We wrote at length about its implementation on our tech blog [2] as well as the network anonymization layer that we built to ensure anonymity at the network level [3] (HPN). [^13]
[1]: https://0x65.dev/blog/2019-12-02/is-data-collection-evil.html
[2]: https://0x65.dev/blog/2019-12-03/human-web-collecting-data-in-a-socially-responsible-manner.html