I think Threads is just a bit too invasive

What else did you expect from Meta?
Vacuum up all data, categories it and let advertisers pay to target those demographics.

I especially love the "other data"... What the hell else is there?!
- Also "Sensitive info", what is that? Fingerprints, social security number, and penis size?
  
  Ha! They can't measure mine because it's detachable!
  
  Apple lists the following:
  “Such as racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, pregnancy or childbirth information, disability, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinion, genetic information, or biometric data”
  Biometric data is a bit scary.

I always find it funny that meta and google collect all your data for ads, but I've never seen an ad that I was interested in
- Do people even process the contents of an ad? Most of the time I selectively ignore them.
  
  I feel the same. But I would guess that consciously it not, we are now more aware/knowledgeable of a product's existence because we came across an ad.
  I think children are WAY more susceptible to add though. So many times I have seen my nieces and nephews playing free games on their tablet and just completely watch the video ad that interrupts the game. Kids are like sponges, just soaking everything up.
  There's gotta be some studies somewhere on the subconscious effects of advertisements.
  
  Depends how they are delivered. Social media posts are bad because they look like posts (with a tiny “promoted” badge somewhere) so those get me for a split second.
  But I’m an avoid ad at all costs kinda person.
  
  Yes, unconsciously, we are all subject to the influence of advertising and manipulation of information even if we think we are consciously aware of it and try to avoid it. Others around us are, and they influence us, culture dictates norms and communicates through overt and symbolic language. It impacts our decision making processes. Advertisers know this and have leveraged this since the creation of that field.
  Here's a fun piece by Adam Curtis about the origin of PR, advertising, and its roots in psychology at the turn of the 20th Century: The Century of the Self . I think folks here will enjoy it considering why we left Reddit :)
- I rarely see any ads. First thing I do on a clean windows or new phone, is to install adblockers. Simply because they have become so intrusive and takes up a lot of screen realestate. On top of that ads have been attack vectors for zero day exploits into people's computers several times before.
  One place I still see ads are on Facebook, and they never target anything I'm interested in. I suspect it's because of greed. Because they are absolutely collecting my data, so they should be able to target me with relevant stuff, but they will allow any ads as long as the advertisers pay up. I have seen explicit ads on Facebook.. on Facebook! Where users almost gets banned for saying butt. Ads on the other hand, is fine..
  The result is I'm bombarded with irrelevant ads, that I never click.
  As services gets more aggressive with pushing ads down my throat, the more aggressive methods I'm going use to block ads or find alternative services. They did it to themselves.
- What's your field of work?
  
  Nice try Zuckerberg
- I mean that's not exactly the point of ads, they still win whether you're interested or not
  
  Not really. They get money when you click on them. They don't get anything for displaying it. That's the whole point of having targeted ads, it increases the chance of interacting with them.

I know it's for advertising but there's a paranoid little corner of my mind that imagines insurance companies paying for some of these, uh, "user insights."
- No it isnt, Cambridge Analytica was a data leak through a Facebook exploit, advertising companies don't sell data because it's more profitable for them to be the only ones with it.
- Ho no it's not just for advertising anymore. Insurance companies and more have started buying your info from data brokers.
  
  Hopefully that means they’ll start giving me better rates!
- Even worse in the third world without many of the data protection that first world citizens enjoy. Nobody gives a shit who gets their own data - Data Privacy advocates get hassled by the very people they are advocating for.

I mean, did anyone think it wasn’t basically spyware?
- Almost every app on your phone is like this. Facebook, Twitter and Insta especially.
  I'm surprised people are surprised by this. You've all been walkign round with spy devices on you as long as Eddie Snowden told you a decade ago.
  
  I love how you say ‘almost every app’ and then your three examples include two Meta apps and also Twitter. Their whole business models are to gather as much as possible to sell.
  Not every app needs your health data, financial information, and usage data to send short messages to their friends. I get wanting a certain amount of data in order to do certain things but needing basically everything possible frankly SHOULD BE eye opening to people if they didn’t already know.

What also impresses me is the app size: 191MB (before installing) for an app that doesn't have any complex feature.
- Love to ship every icon in 1080p and a JITing Javascript VM that runs on top of a JITIng Java VM and also the code to collect all this data and the APIs of thirty ad networks to send it to. Also a complete reimplementation of buttons, can't be caught dead using the buttons the system provides.

I don't see how the app could possibly function without access to your call logs and messages. /s

I mean, it's meta - of course it's too invasive.
"You can be unethical and still be legal"
Mark Zuckerberg
- ITT people are surprised that facebook wants to steal your info, what a surprise!

This is a lot more than mildly infuriating.
- Is that we we put you?

Post number 3.492 complaining about Threads
- Do you really think, there should only be two post complaining about this shitty piece of software and then we should walk our way?
  
  Clearly there should be 3491 only.
  
  There's a big range between 2 posts and obsessive reposting of the same thing over and over
  
  Yep then the same people go saying "wow can't believe how there was only few posts and people already forgot it."
- I see Lemmy is already at the "X is bad, updoots on the left" stage
- Hey it's my turn to post this tomorrow

Lol people see this and then think I got nothing to hide and proceeds to download🤣🤣

I find this ridiculous, but the general public doesn’t seem to care. And this stuff will continue until they do. So forever.
- No they not, in EU people where using VPNs (probably free, with more tracking) to use Threads.
  When USA tried to block TikTok, people started to use free VPNs to continue using TikTok.
  Mostly are unaware or don't understand, other just don't care they "have nothing to hide"

Were you expecting anything better from zuck lmao?

yes, very threadtening design indeed.
- 💀💀💀

What, you don't see why a Twitter-esque app would need access to your Health and Fitness data?
/s
- "sensitive info"

Yeah. Miss me with that shit. Never gonna touch anything meta related
- Unfortunately, rejecting WhatsApp is probably one of the most socially isolating decisions I've ever made.

mildly infuriating?! That’s a mild understatement.

I never understood why people prefer threads over Mastodon or Lemmy. Their app bundle size is so much smaller. 250mb for an app that does similar to what Mastodon and Lemmy is doing is ridiculous
- People like self-promotion and the chance of getting millions of views for your latest post. The Fediverse is like a nerdy book club in comparison (which is why I'm here).
  
  "Mastodon never caught on in the interwebs because all the nobodies see themselves as temporarily embarrassed influencers" - John Steinbeck
  
  But threads is in the fediverse
- Wait, are there people who aren't advertisers who do prefer Threads over Mastodon or Lemmy? Most of the reviews I have seen are bad, and the good ones seem to be from people who haven't tried the fediverse, though I couldn't swear to that.

Threads is just another gimmicky clone of Twitter, there is not new or interesting about it plus it collects all your personal data.
- people love data collection, tho; just makes them feel like a part of something
  
  People signed up for Threads because it was "the hot new thing," not because people wanted their data to be collected. I bet most users don't even realise how much data is being collected from them.

Apple has a page up outlining what each area collects and shares: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/app-privacy-details/#data-type

How is it that there is not an app that is a container and you can run apps in that container and anything running in that container can't access any data outside if the container.
Maybe even the container mocks up data to make your profile look complete.
- Later Android versions do support this... It's just called Multiple users (or a work profile but I think you need Google Workspace to set that up).
  You can set up a new user as a sandbox for these types of apps and shut them down when not in use.
- Because you can't write apps like that. You don't have that level of access.
  
  GraphineOS works much like this.
  I think the reason Andoid doesn't implement it is because they want to be able to sell user data as much as anyone else.
  
  It's pretty common place for organisations with a BYOD policy on they phones to have corporate apps running in a seperate environment.
  I have seperate Files, Play store, etc in my work environment. The work Files app can't see my personal data, and my personal Files app can't see my work data. I'm not sure how it's implemented but it seems to be working.

It's Facebook, what did you expect.

They just want to know everything you’ve ever done or thought about nbd.

I've read they are even blocking EU citizens using it via VPN now. Thanks for your hard work I guess.

App Privacy: No

How does this compare to Twitter?

What's with the app size....
- I think the current app was rushed which lead to huge app size. Once they have enough time, the Dev's can decrease the size through
  
  But they'll never get that time

I keep getting notifications that my Instagram followers wanna follow me on Threads, but I refuse to use it until they enable the website so I can control the data they learn about me.
- So you use Instagramm but are concerned that Threads collects too much data? Next you are going to tell me that you don't use Facebook because you don't trust the company behind it?
  
  Sigh, I just realized after I posted this comment that Instagram collects the same data as Threads. I am a dumb dumb.
  
  I stopped using Facebook on my phone because of the drain it had on battery. I have a new phone which manages it better and it's back on my phone again, but, like, who even uses FB these days ahead of other apps? Anyway, I still use it for birthdays (which is why I had Frost installed before Facebook broke it), but I miss the days you could just add Facebook birthdays to Google Calendar. Facebook killed that too.
  
  They use it through a web browser, meaning it can only access the data the web browser allows.
  
  Instagram is allowed in the EU and Threads is not, suggesting that Threads may be worse for privacy. And it's not easy to convince everyone you know to switch to a different platform.
- I personally wouldn't trust the website, either. It might be possible to block all the direct trackers, but they can learn a lot about you by what you do on the service, from who you follow to how long you spend on the site. If you have an account, you're paying for it in data.
  ...if you're okay with paying in data, that's your business, not mine, but don't assume blocking trackers is full protection.

Just a tad

threads is a great way to ban anyone who doesn't think just like me. And i know what to think because the mainstream media tells me how to think

I'm curious how they obtain that info. I have a FB account just because sometimes I need it for work. I don't use my real name, I have no friends, and I run it in a sandbox with a VPN and ad blockers. I'd like to know how much of my info they still can access.
- It specifies it's from the app, so they have access through the native functionality for that. When you go to install it, it lists the data it accesses, and by downloading and using it, that's how they are given permission.
  Protip: Don't use the app
  
  Some of those categories of information (location, health, contacts for example) require the user to accept on an iOS prompt. The app won’t be given access otherwise. Apple are usually pretty strict about apps only asking for those permissions if there’s a valid reason. I’m curious to know what they would be though.
  I still won’t be using the app.
- Make a GDPR request for all your data?
- They don’t. I mean not in a “oh trust Meta way”, obviously don’t, but…
  These privacy cards are self reported by the developers and have nothing to do with enforced API or data access. Obviously not reporting something like identity while asking for the user’s real name on the first screen is likely to be noticed by AppStore review, but it’s just as possible for a developer to check every box to cover their ass (what Meta likely does since let’s be honest they do vacuum up everything you type into the app at a minimum) as it is for a developer to check no boxes and still be collecting various bits of info. Which is of course why things like HealthKit actually have on device permission screens and need access confirmed by the user directly.
  And of course a user giving or not giving direct permission is very likely used in any fingerprinting that they’re doing
  
  Also don’t you get a pop up on iOS when apps actually try to do one of these things? Like I have weather apps that clearly say that track my location, but it still gives a pop up asking to use your location when you actually start using it.

I think I agree

Why is your phone a square

That's kind of an understatement, eh?

I wonder what is "others" in this case 🤔...

I wonder why.

Last one: the rest of the fucking owl.

ya think? :ρ

At least when its federated, you can still communicate with your friends who have Threads, without you having to deal with how invasive Meta is.
- Possibly. Apparently there are some possible issues with interconnection between instance admins that would give Threads information your local instance has about you. I understand that there are ways to change the code so that doesn't happen, but as of right now, there's more risk of data transfer than just posts/comments.
  ...Wayyyyy less than if you actually install their app, of course. But there's room for improvement.

A bit? They aren't even trying to respect your privacy or wishes. Zuckerberg is a reptile asshole

I mean, it belongs to Meta where you expecting anything else really?

A smidgeon maybe.

I think we've understood that now.

as a cs student (with no app dev experience so take it with a grain of salt) many, not all, permissions seem reasonable.
EDIT: While all of them are definitely used for ads, these are most probably for the algorithm:
Location
User Content
Search History
Browsing History
Usage Data
For profile:
Contact Info
For suggestions: Contacts
Purely ads: Health & Fitness
Purchases
Financial Info
Identifiers
Sensitive Info
Other Data
That's why i said many, not all
- As an European citizen, the app is so invasive that it can't operate in the EU.
  
  Yeah I have a US Apple/Appstore account but live in the Netherlands and it was working for me for about a week but now they've cut off access to everything in the app but the main feed. I'm guessing it's because of my EU IP and them realizing people like me still had access.
- An app that lets you post texts to a set of followers does not need, for example, health data access.
  
  They may wanna know when you plan on dying... I mean, it is possibility... so, you know, they could warn you.
- There’s probably only like 5 permissions there the app needs to run (and some of those like diagnostics certainly are not needed but I can understand why they might want that)
- These aren’t permission they’re how they use your data
- Keep studying.
- Well as a former engineer with 15 years experience, the ONLY thing reasonable is the user content one, and ONLY if you intend to post pics straight from the device.
- Sometimes you need permissions for weird stuff, because the weird stuff provides a backdoor way to do the thing the permission is meant to stop you doing. Want to let the user switch sound to and from their Bluetooth headsets? Better get the "Location" permission, because you can leverage the Bluetooth API to talk to positional beacons that could tell you where the user is!