According to the report, the browser integrated with Instagram and Facebook extracts your information without your permission.

Instagram D facebook They have a built-in web browser that can be seen when a link to an external page is opened. While you can copy the URL and paste it into Chromium or application Browser which is set by default on the mobile phone, users usually resort to what is included in their social networks for the immediacy it offers.

However, the new report indicates that these web browsers in particular, they pose a risk to the user’s privacy as they extract personal information without the user’s consent. The author of the report is Felix Krausautomation application developer fast lanewhich details how these digital platforms use this method to obtain the data of millions of people in the world as in iOS how in android.

The report focuses on integrated web browsers Facebook, Instagram D messenger, a social network owned by Meta. However, it is pointed out that these platforms are not the only ones using tools of this type. Twitter also has his own option when the link is opened in his system, but Krause does not specify if he uses the same methods as the company Mark Zuckerberg.

Privacy risk for Instagram and Facebook users

The report explains that opening a link without using a regular web browser such as Chromium or Safari, a tracker is installed on the user’s mobile equipment. It records people’s interactions on alternative websites. Krause mentions that these actions range from tapping an ad to opening another link, selecting text, or taking a screenshot, just to name a few.

That’s not all. Embedded Browsers Instagram D facebook they can also see the login credentials when logging into the platform when registering and manually entering the form. The same happens with other items such as credit cards when shopping.

Krause indicates that it is likely Target do not track or extract this personal data associated with the user’s banking information, but this can be done easily since the user will never know about it.

“I don’t have a list of the exact data that Instagram pulls. I have evidence that applications Instagram D facebook they actively execute JavaScript commands to inject an additional JS SDK without the user’s consent, in addition to tracking the user’s text selections. If Instagram is already doing this, they can also inject any other JS code.”said Krause

In addition, the developer added that “application Instagram by itself is well protected from man-in-the-middle attacks, and only by modifying the binary file android to remove the certificate pin and run it in the simulator, I was able to inspect some of your web traffic. Even then, most real data had another layer of encryption/compression. It’s clear that they don’t really want you to investigate what data is being sent back to the API.”.

Instagram and facebook tracker how to avoid it?

Krause said that the tracker was detected in the browser built into Instagram D facebook He Metapixel. It has been controversial in the past due to its use on US hospital websites to solicit information from patients and show them ads based on their medical conditions.

Although the fact that social networks collect personal information of their users has long ceased to be a secret, Mansana has been quite strict when it comes to the privacy of its users. For this reason, he implemented Application Tracking Transparencyto prevent unwanted data tracking.

Krause recommends that people who do not want these browsers to receive their information can open links in an alternative application to social networks, such as those already mentioned. Chromium or Safari. It might be a bit slower and more cumbersome, but you might want to avoid the tracker that these alternatives have.

Another option, somewhat more radical, is to stop using apps. Instagram D facebook to opt out of their mobile web browser versions. This way, every time an external link is opened, it will be on the same platform.

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