Ethics of (really detailed) User Tracking
I was one of the testers of a program that intimately reveals the actions users take on websites. It's almost like this tool had a video camera recording every action the user took. The movement of the mouse, where they clicked, how many times, what keys they pressed, etc was all available for me to see. I was really amazed that this was even possible in javascript.
I haven't used the service in a while, but reading an old email made me think of it again. What do you think about services like this? Is it ok to use them or is it a total invasion of the user's privacy?
pr0gr4mm3r posted this at 20:51 — 22nd September 2008.
He has: 1,502 posts
Joined: Sep 2006
I don't think where I moved my mouse and what links I clicked on are all that interesting. I am only concerned about keeping my personal information private. If someone wants to know my path through a website, I'm not that concerned.
decibel.places posted this at 23:07 — 22nd September 2008.
He has: 1,494 posts
Joined: Jun 2008
well, your key presses can be captured... so even if you don't submit anything, the text can be scraped-
I put in a listener for the Enter/Return key on a site, the other keys have codes too
So don't enter your info unless you REALLY trust the site (I almost never enter my DOB - it's great to be 38 again!)
You could also turn off JavaScript, if you're really paranoid, but many sites depend on it (although JS is hell on Section 508 accessibility, are you listening Target?)
What about proxy services like Tor and Vidalia? I installed them after reading about them at d.o. but using them creeped me out!
Getting back to User Tracking, I think if you are gathering any statistics beyond referrer URL (yeah, in PHP it is referer
- the programmer who can actually spell is a rare beast) - maybe even for that - a detailed privacy statement is necessary. For really detailed stats, I think you would want the users to agree to a legal TOS, which justifies why you are collecting all that personal info (like a dating site?)
Megan posted this at 13:13 — 23rd September 2008.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
I agree with this. Not that people ever read the TOS or privacy policy, but at the same time there should be some openness about it. I'd feel uncomfortable if I knew a webite was tracking everything I did. For many sites this could also be combined with all the other things they know about you (e.g. Google, Amazon, Facebook). It's like you're being followed.
We are developing a privacy policy for our sites (at work) because we're using Google Analytics.
Edit: okay, I agree with the requiring a privacy policy or TOS bit, not that it should be required for anything beyond referrer logging - somewhere in between probably. If it can be traced to an individual IP, definitely.
Megan
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Greg K posted this at 14:00 — 23rd September 2008.
He has: 2,145 posts
Joined: Nov 2003
In that case just about every site needs the privacy statement. Every default install of apache logs data, such as IP address, date, time, action on the server, referring page, your browser identifier.
There are still people that are amazed that even that basic information is grabbed.
-Greg
Darling posted this at 02:03 — 23rd September 2008.
He has: 7 posts
Joined: Sep 2008
Welcome to airstrip one!
I'm amazed that this sort of thing is allowed to go on (although the internet is notoriously difficult to police). I know, at the moment, it is only being used for more targeted advertising but with the number of blunders with personal information recently (laptops being left on trains, hard drives full of credit card details being sold on eBay etc.)it can't be long before some unscrupulous characters get their hands on our keystrokes.
Darling posted this at 13:43 — 23rd September 2008.
He has: 7 posts
Joined: Sep 2008
Surely you can get any private data typed in by logging keystrokes?
greg posted this at 02:38 — 23rd September 2008.
He has: 1,581 posts
Joined: Nov 2005
mouse movements, buttons pressed, keystrokes...
who cares if someone records all of them. As pr0gr4mm3r said, it's only private data that means anything. Name/address/dob/age/credit card/etc
webgeek posted this at 10:35 — 23rd September 2008.
They have: 13 posts
Joined: Sep 2008
I think tracking website visitor activities is good as long as you use it to improve your website conversion and sales rate and don't spam user or use his personal information for illegal purposes.
There are many such softwares such as RealTimeQuery to track live visitors.
Manoj
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trelog posted this at 12:18 — 19th October 2008.
They have: 11 posts
Joined: Sep 2008
I don't like the idea of it at all. I don't think the sites I visit or the ads I click on are anybody's business other than my own.
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