cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/31187638

Earlier today I came across a Reddit comment with a link to an Instagram post. The link had ?igsh= at the end.

When I clicked on the link, I got this popup. It had a name and profile photo that was different from that of the post being shared.

Join Firstname Lastname on Instagram

See photos, videos, and more from Firstname Lastname.

[ Open Instagram ]

not now

I avoid link trackers. However, I did not realize it was this bad.

To my knowledge, TikTok does the same thing and lists the name of the person that shared the link. Assuming this increases engagement, any website could enable such a feature, even on old links that you shared in the past.

You should manually remove any trackers before sharing, or use an app for it.

  • _____@lemm.eeEnglish
    18·
    2 months ago

    another PSA if you have an Xbox account (even for PC) and have added anyone to friends they get to see your full name, state city. It is very cool to play games while also doxing yourself. thanks Microsoft

    • QuadratureSurfer@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      2 months ago

      You can go into settings and change it so that it doesn’t show to anyone. But at some point they made an update and it reset those options to the default setting even if you had previously set it to hidden.

      At that point I just went in and changed my name on my account settings.

        • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago

          if I ever start a multibillion dollar company, I am totally going to name the road [Company] St, with the address being 123.

          Just so everyone thinks the HQ address is fake.

      • _____@lemm.eeEnglish
        4·
        2 months ago

        it was on me to use my real name. at the same time for any online purchase I use my real name so I didn’t give it second thought.

        I just thought it was very wrong of them to expose that to friends list. I pick a nickname for a reason, so people see my nickname.