Ghostery and other Ad Blocking plugins (Hearst brands)

monsieur_epargnant

I note that if brands (Hearst as example. They run most of the daily entry women's mags) comply with 'AdChoices' (a self regulating body) Ghostery allows the ad through. Hmm. I wonder how adblocker plus sees these same pages?

I just ran a browser test using their OPT OUT tool
http://www.aboutads.info/choices/

This showed 105 blocked trackers and 5 allowed. The 5 allowed are: Adbrain, Adelphic, Microsoft Advertising, TubeMogul Inc, and Yahoo.

If you follow that opt-out link you can specify to not be tracked for marketing. After 4 attempts I have managed to get 4 trackers opted out. 1 of them TubeMogul will not opt-out. My real concern is however that I clear ALL cookies every time my browser is closed. This would mean that I would need to opt-out every time I start the browser again!

What this means to users of adblockers is this. You will now be subjected to a non-optional, view an ad, route of entry, whether you use an adblocker or not. Definitely not a big fan of that.

Marketers are initiating a war on adblockers folks. Stay strong!

monsieur_epargnant

Actually you're right. Since version 42 Firefox has enabled tracking protection by default. On further investigation it looks like they use a 3rd party called 'Disconnect'. I'll give it a shot when I do the dailies tomorrow.

monsieur_epargnant

Today it's worse. Disabling Ghostery does nothing, as the comps will not pass the video through after entering. Firefox Private Browsing Mode with Ghostery disabled has the same issue.

The ONLY way to get the entry through is by starting in Safe Mode with all extensions disabled. It seems to me that this is new behaviour from Hearst.

I will (edit: NOT) be entering but ensuring I clear my cache of all cookies BEFORE and AFTER entering dailies from now on.

For anyone else interested in why this is even an issue check out this documentary https://episode2.donottrack-doc.com/en/

I personally find this situation rather telling. Hearst use a 3rd party (DMRI or Data Media & Research) to track each of us. Not content with knowing your full name, address, telephone number, date of birth, and daily marketing emails from the magazines, we are now forced to watch ads that will pause if we go to another tab.. will not proceed to entry unless we view more ads and enable cookies, etc etc.

DMRI started life as a used car broker http://www.dmri.co.uk/companynews/history.php and offer the data they collect for rental http://www.dmri.co.uk/datarental/

My choice alone but I will be avoiding Hearst and all its brands in the future. Sharing this info as it may prove useful to someone else.

Time Inc also use DMRI, but as so far not attempting to get around adblockers or using the same level of demands Hearst are.

fzz33

I'm not being funny, but moaning about some ads... where exactly do you think these prizes come from?

monsieur_epargnant

No you are not at all being funny. I have genuine privacy rights concerns about being TRACKED.

This is a website that stands up for people's rights. I appreciate though you may not care there will be some who will see a red flag with this sort of thing.

fzz33

Then don't do the mag dailies. Seems to me you just want something for nothing. Competitions are run purely for marketing purposes. You hand over your personal details in the hope of winning something. That's how it works. The mags have obviously got wise to the fact that most of us skip the videos, so will lose revenue from advertisers who realise it doesn't work anymore. Ultimately I would rather they changed how the videos work than stop running competitions altogether, which is what will happen in the end if we have the attitude of taking the prizes without giving anything back.

monsieur_epargnant

You are not seeing the point that my privacy is not a factor that is a negotiable marketing tool.

I fully appreciate that you have a different opinion than mine, and I ask that you appreciate others out there may have a different opinion than your own. This is an issue I have with a company that last year took in excess of $9,000,000,000 in revenue.

In no measure of the statement "you just want something for nothing" is there any truth, nor in "have the attitude of taking the prizes without giving anything back."

I hand over my details. My in box is full of marketing emails. I look at their internal ads. The comps themselves are marketing devices. Paid for by the brand NOT the magazine.

I have personal limitations to how much I deem as appropriate in handling of my personal data, having marketing cookies follow my every click is not one of them. Viewing generic ads without them knowing anything about me would be fine.

My purpose in these posts is to make others aware who may be concerned. If you are not concerned, the content I have provided may not be intended for you. As already stated I won't be doing their daily comps due to this.

mjm3346

The ads pay for the prizes/make a profit and it's fair enough they try to stop people blocking them, no different to some other sites where entry forms do not show up if adblockers are used.
If they are viewed inprivate or incognito etc then cookies are not kept once the browser is closed?

(I don't do them anyway as dmri are behind sites on the spam list as well as some sites blocked by mse)

monsieur_epargnant

As I see it the ads pay for the business earnings. The prizes are provided for free as part of a marketing campaign to the magazine by the brand seeking the exposure. The unconnected 3rd party ads and 3rd party tracking cookies are primarily what I have issue with.

I started this discussion about Ghostery and the ads let through now. This is new and what I was worth bringing to light. The fact Ghostery let them through as they seemingly stand up their tests of privacy standard by NOT using tracking cookies, whilst slightly annoying, is something I'll have to grow to accept considering Hearst's end of year earnings.

I found the further blocking of competition entry on some forms as another issue that developed as I wrote.

Accepting the moment you click on a site you step into their property. Ads, activity tracking etc etc yaddah yaddah. Fair game.

But my computer is my property. On my property I don't wish to be tracked after I leave their site.

What I'm driving home here is the tracking me all day everywhere I go kind of stealth they are attempting to enforce. I don't see it as moaning as I am pointing out a huge multinational that take valuable personal information, expose me to ads even with adblockers, then attempt to ram more ads down my throat from a 3rd party that I choose to not have to deal with.

I accept their self hosted ads.
I accept their marketing emails.
I accept their marketing through prize giving.

I do not accept blanket approval to 3rd parties. This is I why I choose adblocking.