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xwipeoutx / undirect

A simple chrome extension that removes this tracking and redirection from Facebook and Google search results
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/undirect/dohbiijnjeiejifbgfdhfknogknkglio
BSD 2-Clause "Simplified" License
60 stars 13 forks source link

No longer useful for Google links #13

Closed quinncomendant closed 5 years ago

quinncomendant commented 6 years ago

Undirect does nothing now. Google no longer uses an intermediary redirect for search result links. Instead, they submit an XHR request to their tracking service when a link is clicked (taken from the ping="…" attribute):

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiVvOGdtL7eAhWBNn0KHYmDBngQFjABegQICxAB">…</a>
xwipeoutx commented 5 years ago

Thanks for the report @quinncomendant , I'll have a look into this - I've noticed the XHR doesn't always happen, which is a bit weird.

My main motivation of this library was removing the interstitial page and fixing up the "copy link to clipboard" functionality. These 2 things are no longer factors - do you get any value out of the extension anymore?

I'm trying to justify continued maintenance of the extension given the value proposition has dropped significantly.

Let me know your thoughts.

quinncomendant commented 5 years ago

Both of your main issues (the interstitial page and fixing up the "copy link to clipboard" functionality) no longer exist.

If that is all the extension does, it no longer has any value.

The extension may have a large user base, many of whom may not realize it can be uninstalled. If you decide to stop maintaining the extension, perhaps you could push an update that turns the extension into a "stub" with a note displayed to the user that it may be uninstalled. Otherwise, you could also push some other useful features, such as disabling Google's new style of hyperlink tracking for improved privacy.

I use uMatrix, which can disable hyperlink auditing, so it's all I need, for now.

screen shot 2018-11-23 at 14 22 28
xwipeoutx commented 5 years ago

Finally have had time to look at this - I note that Facebook support is still fine - so there may be some value if you're in the habit of clicking on Facebook ads.

I've pushed a new version out with just Facebook search results - but I won't be using this extension anymore, and will recommend anyone who asks to just uninstall it.

devnoname120 commented 1 year ago

Google still has redirects for me on Android using Google Chrome.

Screenshot_20231015-091607_Chrome

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