Cookie opt out

[chris_suffolk]

Complaint submitted to the ICO, as you suggested that I do in the post above. See if anything comes of it.

[Psamathe]

Complaint submitted to the ICO, as you suggested that I do in the post above. See if anything comes of it.

ICO is probably massively overloaded. I complained to ICO last Sept about a company I online purchased from passing my details to a 3rd party and them then ignoring a Subject Access Request. Nothing until Jan this year when ICO conformed my e-mail to use for correspondence about the report and nothing since then.

Thank you for your correspondence of 08 September 2020, in which you have raised a data protection complaint.

Before we can respond to your complaint, please can you confirm whether or not this email address is appropriate for correspondence regarding this complaint.

Ian

[Syd]

I’m going to buy some shares in tinfoil companies given all the hats you lot must be creating for yourselves.

FWIW websites seem to think, from my IP address, that I am in Manchester and sometimes London, which I am not.

That's just what they want you to think they think!

Don't come crying to us when you're a fully-owned pseud of fakebook.

I manage cookies is a manner I find sensible, have fairly strict cookie controls set on my browsers, visit a reasonably small number of sites I know well, and as to Facebook?

I have that set up using only a telephone number I ditched years ago, have no *friends* on it and set to *only friends of friends* can add me I.e no one. Why? Because I want to interact with a small number of club , whose only online presence it there, without knowing what Johnny had for dinner or Judy getting plastered on a night out.

The angst some people know on the subject, aside from what it is doing to their blood pressure, is amusing.

[Syd]

FWIW websites seem to think, from my IP address, that I am in Manchester and sometimes London, which I am not.

IP address to location data is unreliable, very expensive, or both. Sometimes even the country is completely wrong, if a block of addresses gets sold to a different network provider.

There are many different sources for this sort of information, each with a different idea of where you are. Which is probably a Good Thing.

My ISP bought a number of IP addresses from Bulgaria that causes some interesting side effects online.

[chris_suffolk]

Complaint submitted to the ICO, as you suggested that I do in the post above. See if anything comes of it.

ICO is probably massively overloaded. I complained to ICO last Sept about a company I online purchased from passing my details to a 3rd party and them then ignoring a Subject Access Request. Nothing until Jan this year when ICO conformed my e-mail to use for correspondence about the report and nothing since then.

Thank you for your correspondence of 08 September 2020, in which you have raised a data protection complaint.

Before we can respond to your complaint, please can you confirm whether or not this email address is appropriate for correspondence regarding this complaint.

Ian

I'm not expecting much, but since the site isn't going to stop Google Analytic use, then the ICO is the only route left open. Well sort of not using the site, which is also a possibility.

[admin]

Complaint submitted to the ICO, as you suggested that I do in the post above. See if anything comes of it.

Thanks! Trying to get clear information out of them is near impossible, but that might help.

But then there are probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of websites that are illegally lacking cookie opt-in popups. They're probably quite busy!

[chris_suffolk]

Complaint submitted to the ICO, as you suggested that I do in the post above. See if anything comes of it.

Thanks! Trying to get clear information out of them is near impossible, but that might help.

But then there are probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of websites that are illegally lacking cookie opt-in popups. They're probably quite busy!

Or you could just keep the essential cookies, and ditch the rest - such as Analytics, then we would never have got here in the first place.

I generally don't use sites that don't comply - there are usually plenty of alternatives for my business.

[admin]

I'm not expecting much, but since the site isn't going to stop Google Analytic use, then the ICO is the only route left open. Well sort of not using the site, which is also a possibility.

You can stop Google Analytics, on all websites on the whole internet. Much more effective than reporting websites to ICO one by one and waiting for a response.

You can use a modern privacy-aware browser like Vivaldi (based on Chrome, but with Google tracking turned off by default) or install something like uBlock Origin as a plugin. I use both, and Google Analytics never sees me, wherever I go.

[admin]

Or you could just keep the essential cookies, and ditch the rest - such as Analytics, then we would never have got here in the first place.

Unfortunately I'm not the decision-maker on this issue.

[Psamathe]

Complaint submitted to the ICO, as you suggested that I do in the post above. See if anything comes of it.

ICO is probably massively overloaded. I complained to ICO last Sept about a company I online purchased from passing my details to a 3rd party and them then ignoring a Subject Access Request. Nothing until Jan this year when ICO conformed my e-mail to use for correspondence about the report and nothing since then.

Thank you for your correspondence of 08 September 2020, in which you have raised a data protection complaint.

Before we can respond to your complaint, please can you confirm whether or not this email address is appropriate for correspondence regarding this complaint.

Ian

I'm not expecting much, but since the site isn't going to stop Google Analytic use, then the ICO is the only route left open. Well sort of not using the site, which is also a possibility.

I have limited experience (I only use Safari on Mac, rarely Firefox for testing) but even Safari blocks google analytics by default without enabling anything - so I assumed most browsers do the same, maybe not?

I never enabled or installed anything for this functionality in Safari (although I do have other blockers that also block Google Analytics and loads more).

Ian

[admin]

Yes, most modern browsers block tracking by default. Which is why Google is researching alternative methods to drive their targetted advertising business.

Except Google Chrome, which allows Google to know quite a lot about you. Which is why I prefer Vivaldi.

[Psamathe]

Yes, most modern browsers block tracking by default. Which is why Google is researching alternative methods to drive their targetted advertising business.

Except Google Chrome, which allows Google to know quite a lot about you. Which is why I prefer Vivaldi.

(My bold and colour)
In which case removing Google Analytics would not have much of an impact if so many browsers are blocking collection of the data you say the site owners so desperately need - they are not getting that data anyway 'cos of browser blocks.

Ian

[chris_suffolk]

Browser settings all set, and browser add-ons installed and configured. Interesting how they differ, with different numbers, and sometimes different trackers etc, being reported by each, and not always the same one stopping the most. Seems more than one could be the way to go. Have to wait to see if any sites break, I know some get very annoyed when running ad-blockers.

[Psamathe]

Browser settings all set, and browser add-ons installed and configured. Interesting how they differ, with different numbers, and sometimes different trackers etc, being reported by each, and not always the same one stopping the most. Seems more than one could be the way to go. Have to wait to see if any sites break, I know some get very annoyed when running ad-blockers.

I have found cookie accept confirmation blocks do break some sites where those sites use a modal Accept/Reject prompt (often greying out the web site) - presumably as the site immediately sends tracking cookies and you must accept before they start tracking cookie'ing you. Sometimes when you see a greyed out web site just pressing <esc> clears the block, sometimes it doesn't and only way is to reload without blockers, answer the cookie questions (refusing non-essential) and then re-enable blocking. But a lot seems to depend on the site and the blocker used and it's only some sites anyway.

Ian

[Pebble]

I use a 'Cookie Auto Delete' plugin, deletes all cookies after I leave the site, not sure how it benefits me but I am far happier having them deleted when I leave.

I white list sites like CUK that I regularly use so as login info is remembered.