From c4acca9281284f436d428eed509fdc69bde4ff17 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Leyla Becker Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:07:22 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] feat: added header for remove tracking params from links page --- .../remove-tracking-params-from-links.md | 43 +++++++++++++------ 1 file changed, 31 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-) diff --git a/posts/drafts/remove-tracking-params-from-links.md b/posts/drafts/remove-tracking-params-from-links.md index cbc301b..1c37034 100644 --- a/posts/drafts/remove-tracking-params-from-links.md +++ b/posts/drafts/remove-tracking-params-from-links.md @@ -1,18 +1,37 @@ ## Your internet traffic is being tracked -When you open up your phone and click on or share links though websites and applications websites are secretly injecting tracking information into the pages. +When you open up your phone and click on or share links through websites and applications, those platforms are secretly injecting tracking information into the URLs. You didn't consent to being tracked, you just wanted to open a webpage. -While you may like this might not be that important to your life because its not relevant but the information being tracked in those links has large impacts on your life. +While you may feel like this is not that important to your life, the information being tracked in those links has large impacts on your life. -TODO: explain why that is a bad thing for privacy, and personal life -- you didn't consent to being tracked you just wanted to open a webpage -- can be used to make targeted ads work better and influence people behavers and beliefs -- can be used to track what you specifically are looking at on the internet and who you know -- it can be used to track and build profiles of who knows who -- even if you agree with what the groups in power are doing right now you shouldn't just give them the tools they need to stop caring about what you think -- makes links harder for people to read -- saves screen space +### They're building profiles on you +The metadata that corporations collect about you is used to make predictions on your behavior and keep track of who you know and how. This data can be used to track what you specifically are looking at on the internet, who you communicate with, and how often. Over time, this builds detailed profiles of who knows who, mapping out your entire social network without your knowledge or consent. + +### Algorithmic feeds are shaping your mental health + +From the data collected, corporations use algorithmic feeds and advertisements to influence your behavior in subtle ways. Research has shown that these algorithmically-curated feeds contribute to rising depression and anxiety rates, particularly among young people.[^facebook_depression] The algorithms are optimized for engagement, not wellbeing; engagement often means amplifying content that triggers strong emotional responses like outrage, fear, or inadequacy. + +### You're being isolated from your community + +The current dominant cultural hegemony uses these algorithmic feeds to isolate you from community and reinforce its dominance. By showing you content designed to keep you scrolling alone rather than connecting with others, these systems harm community bonds and political movements. When everyone is seeing a personalized feed, shared experiences and collective action become harder to organize. + +### Advertisements are manipulating your choices + +Through the mere exposure effect, targeted advertisements influence you to buy things you wouldn't have otherwise purchased. The more you see something, the more familiar and trustworthy it feels; even if you never consciously engage with the ad[^mere_exposure_effect]. This same principle can be weaponized to influence elections by driving engagement or familiarity with specific ballot options, candidates, or political messaging.[^facebook_electoral_interference] + +### Activists and movements are being surveilled + +This tracking infrastructure is also used to monitor activists and social movements.[^tracking_activists] The same metadata that helps advertisers target you can help authorities track who attends protests, who organizes meetings, and who communicates with whom. Even if you agree with what the groups in power are doing right now, you shouldn't hand them the tools they need to stop caring about what you think in the future. + +### It makes the web worse for everyone + +Beyond the privacy, and political implications, tracking parameters make links harder for people to read and share. A clean URL like `example.com/article` becomes an incomprehensible mess like `example.com/article?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=abc123xyz`. Removing these trackers saves screen space, internet bandwidth, and leaves the people around you with more energy at the end of the day for the things that they care about. + +[^facebook_depression]: Internal Facebook research leaked in 2021 showed the company was aware that Instagram was harmful to teenage mental health, particularly for teen girls experiencing depression, anxiety, and body image issues. See: [Wall Street Journal's Facebook Files investigation](https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739) +[^mere_exposure_effect]: The more that you are exposed to something the more likely you are to have a positive option about it even if you are not aware of this bias being built from the advertisements. https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect +[^facebook_electoral_interference]: Facebook's own research demonstrated that the platform could influence voter turnout and potentially election outcomes. A 2012 study published in Nature showed Facebook could increase voter turnout through social messaging. See: [Bond et al., "A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization"](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11421) +[^tracking_activists]: Government agencies use metadata and location tracking to monitor movements and activists. [404 Media's investigation into ICE's neighborhood monitoring tools](https://www.404media.co/inside-ices-tool-to-monitor-phones-in-entire-neighborhoods/) While this specific example isn't directly about data that they have harvested from tracker links they could very easily do the same thing to get an idea of who is involved with what movements. ## How do Links/URLs work @@ -217,9 +236,9 @@ TODO: explain why that is a bad thing for privacy, and personal life ## Query Parameters -Query parameters are a part of a URL that are used to encode some data about a page in its url. They are intended to be optional values but *sometimes* ~~most of the time~~ developers don't actually read or remember technical documentation and RFC's that outline how technologies are supposed to be used and put mandatory data in the optional parameters. [^1] +Query parameters are a part of a URL that are used to encode some data about a page in its url. They are intended to be optional values but *sometimes* ~~most of the time~~ developers don't actually read or remember technical documentation and RFC's that outline how technologies are supposed to be used and put mandatory data in the optional parameters. [^query_params_docs] -[^1]: While the query parameters are not directly defined as optional they are not a part of the main path which should on its own define a unique stable path to any given element. If a query parameter is needed to fetch a specific resource then the path is by definition not uniquely identifying that resource. Youtube is an example of developers not using these value like they should be. Links like this [`https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ`](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ) should instead be designed to look something like this `https://www.youtube.com/watch/video/dQw4w9WgXcQ` +[^query_params_docs]: While the query parameters are not directly defined as optional they are not a part of the main path which should on its own define a unique stable path to any given element. If a query parameter is needed to fetch a specific resource then the path is by definition not uniquely identifying that resource. Youtube is an example of developers not using these value like they should be. Links like this [`https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ`](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ) should instead be designed to look something like this `https://www.youtube.com/watch/video/dQw4w9WgXcQ`