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submitted 8 months ago by helenslunch@feddit.nl to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

Lately I've noticed some mainstream sites injection tracking links into literally every link on their site.

When I hover over it, it shows the correct link at the bottom of my browser, but if I click it or copy it, it takes me to a hijacked tracker link.

Then I can't even get the original link without having my activity tracked.

How do I get the original link that appears at the bottom of my browser?

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[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 51 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

There's an extension for Firefox and maybe Chrome that should help. I think it's called ClearURL, or something similar. It removes the trackers from the ends of URLs

EDIT: That's assuming that it's a legitimate tracking URL, and not something that's been added by malware.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 14 points 8 months ago

It removes the trackers from the ends of URLs

These are not tracking links in the conventional sense where they append tracking data to the legitimate link. They just hijack the link that someone else posts and replace it with an entirely new tracking link with a l.facebook.com domain.

No link cleaning software I have found works because of this.

[-] F_Haxhausen@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Maybe don’t use Facebook or any other site that does this?

I’ve been told this is an unreasonable solution.

[-] Contort3860@links.hackliberty.org 8 points 8 months ago

It's a solution. Sadly, it doesn't solve the problem in a way that satisfies the OP. So, yeah. Not really a resonable solution for OP or most people.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Not helpful, thanks.

Not really going to justify my usage but suffice it to say my business is largely dependent on networking with the people who are active on social media.

Twitter and Reddit I am "read only" via Stealth and Squawker.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com -5 points 8 months ago

That sounds more like malware then. Links from Twitter shouldn't have any Facebook tracking info.

Check your browser for any extensions that you don't recognise, and if you're on Windows, download and run the free version of Malwarebytes.

[-] Limitless_screaming@kbin.social 12 points 8 months ago

The site itself; Facebook, Reddit, or Twitter sends you to a subdomain that then redirects you to the link you clicked. Sometimes used to check the url and warn you if it's malicious or if it's linking to another website, but it's usually used for tracking as well.

[-] Nyfure@kbin.social 6 points 8 months ago

try SkipRedirect, can break some things though, but rare.
Only works for hijacked links where the extension can grab the original link somehow of course.

For general Ad Links, there is FastForward, though i feel it hasnt been on the same level of maintenance since UniversalBypass closed down and they forked it.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 8 months ago

They just hijack the link that someone else posts and replace it with an entirely new tracking link with a l.facebook.com domain

This bit confused me. I thought OP meant that it was the same link every time. The downside of text based forums like this - it removes a lot of nuance and leaves room for misunderstanding.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 4 points 8 months ago

Links from Twitter shouldn't have any Facebook tracking info

That's not what I'm saying.

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 8 months ago

They just hijack the link that someone else posts and replace it with an entirely new tracking link with a l.facebook.com domain

So this isn't Facebook on every occasion then, it's related to the site you're visiting? If so, the extension will hopefully fix it :)

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 8 months ago

No it's not, you misread my statement. It's regarding the type of link and not the site itself.

[-] noodlejetski@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago

no, links from Twitter are instead automatically converted to a t.co URL.

[-] BuckShot686@beehaw.org 12 points 8 months ago

I don't have an extention on FF but whenever I copy a link there's an option to also copy clean link. I'm not home, but I believe this is associated with my search engine being SearXNG.

[-] lemonuri@lemmy.ml 21 points 8 months ago

This is actually a rather new feature in the firefox browser unrelated to searx.

[-] wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one 5 points 8 months ago

Is that feature default for vanilla firefox? Or do you need to go fiddle in settings to turn that on

[-] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 8 months ago

Vanilla.

The only reason I didn't mention it is because it's for copying links, whereas the extension should do it while opening, without needing to copy it first.

[-] wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one 8 points 8 months ago

Thats a level of convenience that will probably get me to grab the extension, but Im glad firefox has that as a feature anyway

this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2023
103 points (91.9% liked)

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