Threads now has a Supplemental Privacy Policy (https://help.instagram.com/515230437301944) regarding their policies relating to "Third Party Services" like Mastodon. Should Threads interconnect with Mastodon via #ActivityPub, this addresses what they will do with our data.
Note that they will collect information about anyone "allowing Threads users to follow you or interact with your content". The information they collect will include your profile, your content, and your interactions.
@mastodonmigration how do they intend to get the ip adresses of mastadon users? Threads would only interact with mastadon servers that aren't sharing thia info I hope?
@mastodonmigration Given the likely trajectory of Threads over time, this may all turn out to be much ado about nothing, relatively.
@mastodonmigration Thank you for posting this. How do I determine who is a Threads user so I can block them? I do not want Zuck or his trained chimpanzees or his AI devs/bots to have access to any of my information here and I do not consent to such disclosure or access.
This Supplemental Privacy Policy (https://help.instagram.com/515230437301944) also addresses what Threads will do with the information they collect. These uses include advertisements.
@mastodonmigration This sounds to me like permanent exclusion from the EU for Threads. Collecting information about a third party person without their knowledge, and therefore with no opportunity to decline, must be a breach of some EU law somehow.
Maybe it also means that EU-based ActivityPub instances will be obliged to either block Threads or make their users aware of the implications of interacting with Threads content?
@mastodonmigration but but but “hey guys let’s not rush to assuming meta is going to be terrible about this”
🙄
@mastodonmigration am I taking crazy pills? Everyone seems up in arms about this... But isn't this _required_ to federate? How else would threads users be able to interact across fediverse unless they... Collected profiles, posts and replies?
@wethegreenpeople The issues tend to be in the uses of the collected information. For contrast look at the standard form Mastodon Privacy Policy: https://mastodon.social/privacy-policy
@mastodonmigration Their uses policy just states that your data will be used for core functionality, and to provide "personalization" across meta apps.
I guess I'm mostly confused because I'm not sure what anyone expected? There seem to be some people that are outraged that meta is collecting anything (but that's required for federation) and there are people that are upset about how the data will be used (but I'm guessing those people are already on instances that have blocked threads)
A reminder to Gulp Cafe folks, we have already blocked Threads, Meta, Facebook, Instagram, Xitter, and bluesky, and will continue to update those block lists to try and shield your data privacy rights 👍
@mastodonmigration None of the listed items go beyond what fediverse instances collect when you interact with them? Or am I missing something.
Your Mastodon instance has your IP address for people who didn't know
@mastodonmigration How the heck would they even collect users' IP addresses? 
Isn't one of the main benefits of federation that the user IP addresses aren't exposed to other servers?
@andrew
When I think of the very directed shit I got from all of those lovely folks from @mastodonsocial when this came up originally, and I - and others - were crystal fucking clear about where this would lead.
Well - now we can see. It wil lead to shameless attempts to harvest data.
Have to say: can't see how that privacy policy would stand up under legal challenge in Europe. We have opt in not opt out privacy law. Largely.
@JimmyB @mastodonsocial @mastodonmigration yup. “But preemptive de-federation is such a knee-jerk over-reaction, we don’t even know what their plans are yet!”
*stroking off hand motion*
@andrew
Yup - remember it well. 'What good would it do?" and 'we should give them the benefit of the doubt". And they were all from @mastodonsocial
Well. They were definitively wrong.
@Taris
Would you mind sharing some kind of list of those services you mentioned? Kinda want to add these blocks too now for my own instance
@lmas what I actually did was search for the IP ranges owned by those companies and blocked the IPs from interacting with our server at all. I didn't save the lists I think
@mastodonmigration personally, these are not things that concern me. It’s all out there anyway to be is it in one way or another. The only issue for me is what’s done with it. If they can’t show me ads based on what they discover, that’s a very good reason to make my primary social carrier a fediverse carrier, and not Threads or any other ad-centric platform.
@mastodonmigration Recap
#Threads and #BlueSky suffer from the same problem.eX- #twitter does... Douchebag Techbro Billionaire Owner ( #DTBO )
To attempt same and expect different results is clinical insanity.
@mastodonmigration
Ohhh! They want to connect to Mastodon to collect data! In that case, I change my mind about predicting their plans: they are definitely going to federate.
@mastodonmigration This seems like and excellent used for a variation on Cory Doctorow's disclaimer:
@mastodonmigration I thought I might re-share this for #Fediverse instance admins — in addition to #FediBlock-ing #Threads from federating with your server, here’s a list of iptables firewall commands to drop all inbound and outbound traffic to and from #Meta’s IP address ranges (including Threads). This should completely stop all interaction from Threads to your server! https://mastodon.moule.world/@MOULE/110586556696261405
@wethegreenpeople @mastodonmigration Yes, this is essentially just listing out what is technically required for federation.
Ignoring the part about ads, which isn't really about displaying ads to anybody outside of Threads, other Meta properties, or where they are already serving ads.
@hybridhavoc @wethegreenpeople For a comparison look at the Mastodon Pricacy Policy, which is a lot more specific about the limitations on use of your data.
@mastodonmigration @wethegreenpeople
If I'm going to do any comparison, I'll wait until the Threads privacy policy is functional again to read for myself (site seems broken right now?). Frankly the framing of this, and the comprehension displayed in this thread, makes me question how that screenshotted text fits into the full context.
@hybridhavoc @wethegreenpeople Nope. Just works. Tried it in two different browsers, and an incognito window. All work just fine.
@mastodonmigration @wethegreenpeople Thanks for checking. Found the offending plugin. So, if the information provided on that page for how they use the data they collect is not specific enough for you, that may be because it's a summary of the larger Meta privacy policy, which they mention and link to ("We use the information we collect for Threads for the purposes described in the Meta Privacy Policy"). That policy is here: https://privacycenter.instagram.com/policy/?section_id=2-HowDoWeUse
@mastodonmigration @wethegreenpeople
Unfortunately, neither that summary nor the full Meta privacy policy page seem to be written with third party services and users in mind as the audience. It's all about how Meta uses data it collects from users of Meta services, to personalize or improve those Meta services for those users.
@mastodonmigration Oh, look, a trojan horse! Meta gifts us connectivityfor all, while actually aiming to monetize every single possible interaction! Well, I've heard this story before...
@hybridhavoc @wethegreenpeople The words are the words. The information they collect from Third Party Users is defined, as is the uses of the information.
@mastodonmigration @wethegreenpeople The information they collect from third party users is the information they have to collect in order to federate. There's nothing listed there that even raises an eyebrow for me. If any of that is alarming to you, you are either uninformed or being intellectually dishonest.
And the uses of the information isn't written in a way to be explicitly about third party user data. You can't take anything of relevance from that.
@mastodonmigration ugh, horrifying
anyone have a link explaining how to block threads from a masto server?
@lscottspencer Not all privacy policies are the same. You can compare this to the Mastodon standard form Privacy Policy:
https://mastodon.social/privacy-policy
While it may be true that these Threads terms are common for commercial platforms, Mastodon is not a commercial platform and users are not necessarily comfortable with providing their data to Meta just because their instance federates with Threads.
@lscottspencer An issue is that Fediverse users are not explicitly agreeing to the Meta Privacy Policy. They are being told that by virtue of the fact their information is shared on Threads, that they are automatically subject to it.
@lscottspencer Granted that Threads has not federated yet. The issue is the data rights they are asserting when and if they do. This is a document they have published so it is appropriate to call attention to what they say they will do with our data even if they have not done it yet.
Hope you are right that any instance that federates with Threads will update their Privacy Policy and expressly inform their users what Meta can do with their information.
@mastodonmigration Besides your life being used to fuel Meta’s bank vault, you can only deactivate your Thread account by deactivating your Instagram account as well??? So Meta is just mining both accounts for advertising dollars??? Wake up people!!! Your stories and humor and songs and pictures of pets and grandchildren and friends and lovers are all feeding Meta’s bank!
@shoq @mastodonmigration They might still figure out a way to connect the data they collect with your actual, or your "shadow" profile.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_profile
So, they won't be able to show you ads while you're browsing the fediverse, but they could potentially use that data to show you ads on other websites.
Good reminder to always use an ad-blocker.
