schrödinger

feed me, seymour

  • already posted in 2015, but worth drawing attention to it (because in the meantime it was blocked by google): https://adnauseam.io

    AdNauseam is a free browser extension designed to obfuscate browsing data and protect users from tracking by advertising networks. At the same time, AdNauseam serves as a means of amplifying users’ discontent with advertising networks that disregard privacy and facilitate bulk surveillance agendas.

    [...]

    Built atop uBlock Origin, AdNauseam quietly clicks on every blocked ad, registering a visit on ad networks’ databases. As the collected data gathered shows an omnivorous click-stream, user tracking, targeting and surveillance become futile.

    being blocked in the google store, you have to install it yourself

    this article discusses why google might have removed it:
    https://ppcprotect.com/adnauseam-extension-click-fraud

    There have been many examples of Google removing plenty of suspicious plugins, but one has to wonder if AdNauseam was indeed removed for suspicious activity or simply because Google didn’t like it clicking ads all day. It’s worth noting that AdNauseam is, in fact, an open-source project, so anyone can check the code for malicious activity themselves if you’re technically inclined.

    The most likely reason why Google could have removed the plugin is that Google wants to protect their ads and advertisers as much as possible. If you didn’t know already, Google owns the largest online ad network in the world which currently has over 3 million 3rd party publishers in its network.