[tor-bugs] #3991 [Tor Browser]: REQ: Google Analytics filter/block

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#3991: REQ: Google Analytics filter/block
-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------
 Reporter:  joyton       |          Owner:  mikeperry
     Type:  enhancement  |         Status:  new      
 Priority:  normal       |      Milestone:           
Component:  Tor Browser  |        Version:           
 Keywords:               |         Parent:           
   Points:               |   Actualpoints:           
-------------------------+--------------------------------------------------

Comment(by mikeperry):

 Yep, so we're already seeing the NoScript guy fight an arms race for
 Google Analytics similar to the one I talked about for "Web Bugs" at
 https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/3975#comment:1. At first
 it was harmless to just block, but then sites wanted to integrate their
 own scripts with it for measurement purposes, so he had to implement
 placeholders, compatibility hooks, surrogate scripts, etc etc etc.

 And then, even if you win this arms race against Google Analytics, you
 lose it against any of the other several dozen (hundreds?) of DoubleClick
 subsidiary domains and data exchange partnerships.

 Therefore, our approach right now is to disable third party cookies and
 any other way that Google Analytics has of telling you are the same person
 on both twitter and gmail: https://blog.torproject.org/blog/improving-
 private-browsing-modes-do-not-track-vs-real-privacy-design

 We feel that there is nothing technology can do to stop twitter from
 selling Google (or anyone else) the fact that a certain twitter account
 exists and when how it is used and even what IPs might use it. We can
 prevent Google from being able to tell that the same person who has this
 twitter account also has a gmail account, a facebook account, etc etc etc.

 In short, we want to solve this problem at the source rather than though
 an arms race of filtering technologies.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/3991#comment:2>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online