Ghostery

Ghostery
Developer(s) David Cancel
Christopher Tino
José María Signanini
Serge Zarembsky
Patrick Lawler
Caleb Richelson
Stable release
Browser extension

Opera: 8.0.8.1 / April 27, 2017 (2017-04-27)[1]

Firefox: 8.0.8.1 / April 24, 2017 (2017-04-24)[2]

Google Chrome: 8.0.8.1 / 26 April 2017 (2017-04-26)[3]

Safari: 5.4.11[4]

Microsoft Edge: 8.0.8.1[5]

Internet Explorer: 5.4.11[6]

Browser

iOS: 1.5.6[4][7]

Android: 1.3.3 / May 4, 2016 (2016-05-04)[8]

Repository
Edit this at Wikidata
Type Internet Explorer add-on/extension
Microsoft Edge add-on
Opera extension
Firefox extension
Google Chrome extension
Safari extension
iOS app (browser)
Android app (browser)
Firefox for Android add-on
License
Website www.ghostery.com

Ghostery is a privacy and security-related browser extension and mobile browser application. Since February 2017, it has been owned by the German company Cliqz International GmbH (formerly owned by Evidon, Inc., which was previously called Ghostery, Inc. and The Better Advertising Project).[11][12] It is distributed as proprietary freeware.[9] The code was originally developed by David Cancel and associates.

Ghostery enables its users to easily detect and control JavaScript "tags" and "trackers". JavaScript bugs and beacons are embedded in many web pages, largely invisible to the user, allowing collection of the user's browsing habits via HTTP cookies, as well as participating in more sophisticated forms of tracking such as canvas fingerprinting.

As of 2017, Ghostery is available for Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari, iOS, Android, and Firefox for Android.

Additionally, Ghostery's privacy team creates profiles of page elements and companies for educational purposes.[13][14]

Functionality

Blocking

Ghostery blocks HTTP requests and redirects according to their source address in several ways:

  1. Blocking third-party tracking scripts that are used by websites to collect data on user behavior for advertising, marketing, site optimization, and security purposes. These scripts, also known as "tags" or "trackers", are the underlying technology that places tracking cookies on consumers browsers.
  2. Continuously curating a "script library" that identifies when new tracking scripts are encountered on the Internet and automatically blocking them.[14]
  3. Creating "Whitelists" of websites where third-party script blocking is disabled and other advanced functionality for users to configure and personalize their experience.

When a tracker is blocked, any cookie that the tracker has placed is not accessible to anyone but the user and thus cannot be read when called upon. [15] [16]

Reporting

Ghostery reports all tracking packages detected, and whether Ghostery has blocked them or not, in a "findings window" accessible from clicking on the Ghostery Icon in the browser. When configured, Ghostery also displays the list of trackers present on the page in a temporary purple overlay box.[17]

History and use

Originally developed by David Cancel, Ghostery was acquired by Evidon[18] (renamed Ghostery, Inc.) in January 2010. Ghostery is among the most popular browser extensions for privacy protection. In 2014, Edward Snowden suggested consumers use Ghostery along with other tools to protect their online privacy.[19]

Cliqz GmbH acquired Ghostery from Evidon Inc. in February 2017.[20]

On March 8, 2018, Ghostery shifted back to an open source development model, citing that this would allow third-party contributions, as well as make the software more transparent in its operations. The company cited that Evidon's business model "was hard to understand and lent itself to conspiracy theories", and that its new monetization strategy would involve affiliate marketing and the sale of ad analytics data.[21][22]

In May 2018, in the distribution of an email promoting changes to Ghostery's practices to comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), hundreds of user email addresses were accidentally leaked by listing them as recipients. Ghostery apologized for the incident, stating that they stopped the distribution of the email when they noticed the error, and reported that this was caused by a new in-house email system which accidentally sent the message as a single email to many recipients, rather than sending it individually to each user.[23][24]

Criticism

Some say that Ghostery, Inc. plays a dual role in the online advertising industry. Ghostery blocks sites from gathering personal information, but it does have an opt-in feature called GhostRank which can be checked to "support" them. GhostRank takes note of ads encountered and blocked and sends that information back to advertisers so they can better formulate their ads to avoid being blocked.[25] Though Ghostery claims that the data is anonymized, patterns of web page visits cannot truly be anonymized.[26] Not everyone sees Evidon's business model as conflict-free. "Evidon has a financial incentive to encourage the program's adoption and discourage alternatives like Do Not Track and cookie blocking as well as to maintain positive relationships with intrusive advertising companies," says Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford graduate student and privacy advocate.[27]

Since July 2018 with version 8.2, Ghostery shows advertisements of its own to users[28]. Burda claims that the advertisements do not send personal data back to their servers and that they do not create a personal profile.[29]

Business model

Cliqz GmbH acquired Ghostery from Evidon Inc. in February of 2017.[30] Ghostery no longer shares data of any kind with Evidon, Inc. Cliqz is a German company majority-owned by Hubert Burda Media.

Cliqz's mission is to provide an innovative, privacy-focused browser solution by bringing together data, browser, and search technologies.[31] Cliqz and Ghostery together plan to raise the benchmark in privacy protection by combining AI-powered and blocklist anti-tracking approaches.

On March 8, 2018, Ghostery went open source and made its code publicly available on its Github page.[32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ghostery extension - Opera add-ons". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "Ghostery :: Add-ons for Firefox". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "Ghostery - Chrome Web Store". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Download the Ghostery Browser Extension and Mobile Apps". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Buy Ghostery - Microsoft Store". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Download the Ghostery Browser Extension and Mobile Apps".
  7. ↑ "Ghostery Privacy Browser on the App Store". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Ghostery Privacy Browser – Android Apps on Google Play". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Browser Extension End-User License Agreement". Ghostery. Cliqz International GmbH. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  10. ↑ "ghostery/ghostery-extension". GitHub.
  11. ↑ "CLIQZ and Ghostery join forces to defend your privacy". CLIQZ. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  12. ↑ Ghostery Team. "Ghostery is Acquired by Cliqz!".
  13. ↑ "Ghostery (Dead link)". www.ghostery.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  14. 1 2 Attacking Tracking: They're Watching You (Video). Fox News. March 15, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Third-Party Cookies vs First-Party Cookies". Opentracker. Opentracker. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Prevent 3rd party script from setting cookies (specifically Google adsense)". Stack Overflow. July 29, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  17. ↑ "How does Ghostery work? (Dead link)". www.ghostery.com. Ghostery, Inc. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  18. ↑ Pierce, Jon (2010). "Github - Ghostery Source Code". Github. Ghostery, Inc. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  19. ↑ Storm, Darlene (March 10, 2014). "Snowden at SXSW: We need better encryption to save us from the surveillance state". www.computerworld.com. computerworld. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Private search browser Cliqz buys Ghostery ad-tracker tool – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  21. ↑ "This tool to block web tracking software just went open-source so you see exactly what it's up to". CNET. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  22. ↑ Conger, Kate. "Ad Blocker Ghostery Is Going Open Source to Win Back Some Privacy Points". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  23. ↑ Dellinger, AJ. "Ad Blocker Ghostery Celebrates GDPR Day by Revealing Hundreds of User Email Addresses". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  24. ↑ "Ghostery Email Incident Update". Ghostery. 2018-05-26. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  25. ↑ Henry, Alan. "Ad-Blocker Ghostery Actually Helps Advertisers, If You "Support" It". LifeHacker.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  26. ↑ Hill, Kashmir (1 August 2012). "How Your Browsing History Is Like A Fingerprint". Forbes. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  27. ↑ Simonite, Tom (17 June 2013). "Popular Ad Blocker Also Helps the Ad Industry". Mashable. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  28. ↑ "Ghostery FAQ - What is Ghostery Rewards?".
  29. ↑ "Heise - Ghostery-Erweiterung blendet Werbung ein".
  30. ↑ "Private search browser Cliqz buys Ghostery ad-tracker tool". techcrunch.com.
  31. ↑ "About - Cliqz". cliqz.com.
  32. ↑ "Ad-Blocker Ghostery Just Went Open Source—And Has a New Business Model". wired.com.
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