I made a paid Android app that protects you from link tracking
Link tracking has been a long standing issue to me personally. It is invading my privacy, as the tracking parameters in links can be used to recreate my online activities.
Not sure what happened, last week was the moment when I feel I should put more effort to reclaim my privacy. I went on to find an existing solution for Android platform, be it free or paid, but I can't find one that I want to use.
At the end of my search, I decided that I should scratch my own itch.
Some problems relevant to link tracking are:
- Link with tracking parameters
- Link with tracking parameters hidden behind shortened URL
- Link redirect tracking, such as https://www.google.com/url?q=https://example.com from Google
- AMP
I spent the past week building Untrack to solve problem #1.
The initial version will protect you from link tracking if you open the link through Untrack. It also has a feature to copy the link with all tracking parameters removed.
If you are looking for a way to keep yourself from being tracked, Untrack might be suitable for you! Go get it on Google Play and give it a try! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sen.untrack
Untrack will eventually solve the other problems, too! The day when we are free from all of those problems will definitely come.
It's an interesting product, haven't you heard of DuckDuckGo?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duckduckgo.mobile.android&hl=en_GB&gl=US
I happened to have heard of DDG and use it, too. But, I don't think DDG is solving the problems I mentioned above.
How is your solution different from DuckDuckGo? Any link clicked in DuckDuckGo isn't tracked and a tracking profile isn't made by default.
For individual sites, that's a different story and we now have cookie banners etc to prevent targeted tracking. Also, each tracking key is different per provider and changes frequently. You may find your app chasing the keys.
Good luck!
As you know, a tracking link might look like https://example.com/?utm_source=big-tech&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_term=sunglass&utm_content=top_banner.
When you open that link, the site owner (example.com, first-party) will receive all those utm_* parameters, and in turn able to get insights based on them.
And yes, you are correct, Untrack will have to keep itself updated with known tracking parameters for it to work.
Thank you for the kind wish, mate! 🤗