@cdarwin I try to remember to do that, and use LOCAL software to do so automatically when available in case I do forget.
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Miakoda (hellomiakoda@pdx.social)'s status on Sunday, 20-Jul-2025 10:29:47 JST
Miakoda
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Chuck Darwin (cdarwin@c.im)'s status on Sunday, 20-Jul-2025 10:29:49 JST
Chuck Darwin
Source identifiers are used to track your activity on a site:
Where you came from, what device you use, and even who you talk to.Whether it's written clearly in the url or tied to a random string of characters, it's assigned to your activity.
When you send a link containing a source identifier to somebody and they click it, it signals to the website that you two are connected.
And that data goes right back to the website operators, and thus their advertisers.
Whenever you select "share" or "copy link" on a social app or website, it creates a link like this.
If you give even the smallest shit about online privacy, it's important to remove them.
💥Everything after the "?" symbol can be removed without issue,
especially sections starting with "si=" or "utm _source="GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this. -
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xyhhx :PunkFelix: (xyhhx@438punk.house)'s status on Sunday, 20-Jul-2025 17:14:41 JST
xyhhx :PunkFelix:
@cdarwin for the most part this is bullshit
"everything after the "?" can be removed without issue" thats not true. try that with a youtube link, or a ddg search page
anything with `utm_` absolutely can be removed, they're google tracking params. `si=` is also a share id, yes
almost never, if ever, can these be used by website operators to figure out who you talk to, either
but for example `q` on search results page will contain the search query; `v` and `pp` on youtube are "video id" and "playlist id", respectively
on ecommerce sites, they can often be variant ids
firefox has a "copy without tracking" you can try but it doesnt work well in my experience
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