this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2026
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Today I Learned

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TIL that you can get much lower online prices if you use a local library computer. Another reason to hate retailers.

Lora Kelley took a trip to the New York Public Library for us and compared prices against a personal iPhone. The results? A box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and a pack of toilet paper were nearly 20% cheaper on the library desktop.

https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/nothing-personal/surveillance-dynamic-pricing-legal-groceries-tickets/

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[–] 0ndead@infosec.pub 89 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 70 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

That doesn’t help anymore. These days they use device identifiers and IP addresses and all kinds of stuff like that to see if you’re the same person or not. I would imagine that in this case going to your own laptop or desktop would result in the same prices.

If you really want to hide try a browser like the Mullvad browser that specifically resizes and changes things used for fingerprinting.

[–] jtrek@startrek.website 42 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Device finger printing should be illegal.

Our government is run by sleeping 90 year olds. We should have a lot of laws right now that aren't on the books.

Musk is suing right now to make sure they don't make his illegal porn program illegal.

[–] FG_3479@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

It's useful to stop ban evasion, but using it for personalised ads or prices should definitely be illegal.

[–] ripcord@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Well, also use privacy badger

[–] 0ndead@infosec.pub 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (4 children)
[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 25 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Then choose a different one that does the same kind of fingerprinting protection, that’s why I said like Mullvad.

[–] Whirling_Ashandarei@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Heard good things about ivpn and am looking at them for my new one as my sub is running out shortly.

Funny that vpns are banned here.

[–] undefined@lemmy.hogru.ch 3 points 3 weeks ago

I absolutely adore IVPN and do highly recommend them but eventually switched to Mullvad for higher speeds. I also think IVPN isn’t IPv6 friendly if I remember correctly.

[–] axx@slrpnk.net 11 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

That's simplifying things to the point of being useless. Seriously, can't we have just a bit of nuance?

There are legit, actual neo-nazis out there. I don't have much sympathy for Daniel Berntsson, and he clearly has some shitty ideas and positions, but calling Mullvad browser a "Nazi supporting browser" because Mullvad's rich co-founder made a donation without telling the company is just conflating everything into a big muddy thought soup.

[–] AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

It's hard to say, but they do call for ethnic cleansing or "remigration" of citizens. That means concentration camps. What the US is doing now but worse. They also have socialist policies. So by combining nationalist and socialist (populist) policies, they are kinda reinventing Nazism. They are a serious threat.

It really is fucking sad because they were allies in the war against privacy, but you have to draw the line at ethnic cleansing.

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You're missing the point, library computers are used by a lot of poor people so those computers have cookies and other fingerprinting that makes companies think the users of those machines can't afford normal prices so they get even lower prices than if you had completely cleared your chace cookies fresh device and all that.

[–] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 20 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

It's not the library, it's the cache you never clear. She could have done this just as easily at home on a browser with a private window she hadn't signed into.

[–] klankin@piefed.ca 27 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

With the same IP, CPU, GPU, and networkcard??

Easily fingerprintable

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 12 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Easily obfuscated, but also just clearing cache or using private browsing will more likely than not work.

[–] mpdarkguy@piefed.world 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I tried using waterfox and librewolf i think.

Every click on a new site was 5 capchas, its horrendously unusable, since probably they assume that all obfuscated user agent and other data are bots

[–] chunkystyles@sopuli.xyz 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I tried LibreWolf. It was such a bad experience.

It's a shame that the Internet is so bad that the browser has to go to such extreme lengths to give you any privacy that it makes the experience awful.

[–] WoodYouLookAtThat@lemmy.today 1 points 3 weeks ago

It definitely isn't as graceful in the every day experience, but keeping a profile with resist fingerprinting disabled has helped the few times I need to get past turnstiles and whatnot that otherwise loop

It really is a shame that it's come to this rock paper scissors war between the server's usage, the user's experience, and privacy. Currently privacy is what has been cut in favor of the other two. You have to work to maintain privacy now

[–] klankin@piefed.ca 9 points 3 weeks ago

Unless you're running a virtual GPU (and changing it often enough to remain anonymous), tracking pixels are pretty difficult to obfuscate (the exact thermal environment your PC is in will even effect timing).

And thanks to big tech this state of the art tracking is on essentially every website.

Clearing site data/private mode is a way to ask nicely that websites don't track you, but user intention hasn't been respected for around 3 decades by now.

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[–] grue@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

It's also using an iPhone instead of a desktop PC. Retailers think all iPhone users are rich (or at least less price-sensitive).

[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Cache != Cookies

[–] quick_snail@feddit.nl 16 points 3 weeks ago

This is why I have a botnet of poor people's computers

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Clear your cookies and use a VPN.

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[–] mvilain@fedia.io 12 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

All the more reason to use a VPN.

[–] pivot_root@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

If I were a company looking to optimize profit by pricing goods at whatever limit the targeted consumer demographic would be willing to pay for, I would use a VPN as a signal to raise the price.

It doesn't matter who that consumer is behind the VPN. The VPN itself is a monthly subscription, and that indicates he/she has at enough disposable income to afford non-essential services.

[–] CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

To that point the library computer is free. I don’t know anything about VPNs or how to use them and I definitely shouldn’t have to pay for something for basic privacy. Library users improve the demand for libraries. Using a library computer is a win in basically all ways that really matter.

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[–] Seimhe@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Is it possible to instruct the browser, via extensions or something, to simply withhold that kind of information? I know websites need to render the page differently for different browsers and OS, but when it comes to things involving payment I'd rather deal with the browser quirks than get ripped off.

[–] Beacon@fedia.io 17 points 3 weeks ago

Only possible if you go to greater measures than just an extension.

https://understandingdata.com/posts/what-is-a-digital-fingerprint/

[–] grue@lemmy.world 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

Yes, but then that itself becomes a signal.

You have to not only resist fingerprinting, but do it in the same way as other people who resist fingerprinting.

[–] AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 weeks ago

It also marks you as extremely tech savvy, meaning you likely have large disposable incoming.

Or not resist at all, but provide fake, but realistic data with each request

[–] BottleBoardBakon@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Use tor browser or librewolf with a vpn that isnt owned by Kape. Check to make sure all cookies are deleted each session. Make each purchase with a new account. Ideally using an email alias otherwise it gets cumbersome fast. Personally I also use a one time virtual debit card.

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[–] GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This is not true in general. Some sites could charge you more based on your fingerprinting, but very few do as it’s easily proven and would cause massive backlash.

[–] Zamboni_Driver@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)
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You guys are mostly missing the point, the library computers get cheaper prices than even a freshly installed no fingerprint computer because lots of poor people use them.

[–] creamfresh@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Pretty sure that’s illegal where I live.

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Only if those wankers get caught and convicted. Until then, it's just hearsay.

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[–] leanleft@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

go to https://www.bonappetit.com/ and watch the price suddenly jump!

bonappetit.com 4d.condenastdigital.com * block
bonappetit.com ads-static.conde.digital * block
bonappetit.com allure.com * block
bonappetit.com apis.google.com * block
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bonappetit.com cdn.gladly.com * block
bonappetit.com cntraveler.com * block
bonappetit.com conde.digital * block
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bonappetit.com edge.permutive.app * block
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bonappetit.com google.com * block
bonappetit.com gp-prod.conde.digital * block
bonappetit.com gq.com * block
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bonappetit.com www.cntraveler.com * block
bonappetit.com www.epicurious.com * block
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bonappetit.com www.gq.com * block
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bonappetit.com www.self.com * block
bonappetit.com www.teenvogue.com * block
bonappetit.com www.vanityfair.com * block
bonappetit.com www.vogue.com * block
bonappetit.com www.wired.com *  block           

goddamnit. all i wanted was a muffin !
why are you counting my pockets so aggressively ?

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