Avoid “Advertiser ID” with the Librem 5

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Todd Weaver

Founder and CEO
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Latest posts by Todd Weaver (see all)

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• Purism Differentiator Series, Part 13: Modularity & Right to Repair - April 23, 2024

Apple and Google profess to care about the privacy rights of their customers, but their operating systems tell a different story. iOS and Android both allow for pervasive tracking of users through Advertiser IDs. Google uses a version is known as GAID (Google Advertiser Identification) and Apple uses its version called IDFA (Identifier For Advertisers).

While most advertisers claim it’s a benefit because you got a coupon for your pizza, it instead keeps a permanent record of everything your phone has done. That treasure trove of your personal information is shared with any party participating in the user tracking business model, which ends up meaning most apps on your phone.

As Martin Gundersen shares his horrors with the pervasive tracking he experienced that violates his civil liberties:

Almost a month later, I received an interesting email attachment from Venntel. It contained information on where I’d been 75,406 times since 15 February. Suddenly I could retrace my every step on a hike, out for a drink, and visiting my grandmother in Southern Norway.

There were no phone numbers or names in the data. Still, it would have been easy for nearly anyone to find out that this was me. Simple searches in Google and the white pages would show there was a Martin Gundersen living in Sorgenfrigata in Oslo and working at NRK Marienlyst.

The Librem 5, which runs PureOS, does not include any tracking methods. PureOS—which is endorsed by the Free Software Foundation—has been developed in compliance with our company’s strict policies to advance user freedom, release all the source code, never track users, and fully respect the rights of its customers. The Advertiser ID along with the entire surveillance as a business model industry runs counter to user freedom.

Retain your digital rights and support the growing trend, buy a Librem 5 for you and your friends.