| ▲ | applfanboysbgon 12 hours ago |
| > Meta must face a lawsuit alleging that it secretly tracked Android users' browsing activity on mobile websites that embedded Meta's analytics pixel, and linked that activity to users' identities, a federal judge ruled Monday. > The decision, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco, grew out of a class-action complaint initially brought last June by California resident Devin Rose (and later joined by other Android users). > Rose alleged that between September 2024 and June 2025, Meta exploited Android's localhost -- a feature that allows software developers to test applications -- to connect users’ mobile web browsing to their Facebook and Instagram profiles. May 12, 2026 |
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| ▲ | Retr0id 10 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| Not at all to defend Meta but "a feature that allows software developers to test applications" is a dubious definition of localhost. I also can't come up with a better one. |
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| ▲ | austin-cheney 39 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Here is the explicit definition of localhost. The term "localhost" refers to the default entry in all modern operating system host files. By default modern operating systems provide a hosts file that provides domain name resolution without reliance upon the Domain Name System (DNS) protocol. By default these host files typically ship with one entry, a domain named "localhost" that points to IPv4 loopback interface 127.0.0.1. | |
| ▲ | furyofantares 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | It's not a definition, but it is an accurate statement. | | |
| ▲ | Retr0id an hour ago | parent [-] | | It's a true statement but I'm not sure it gives a good impression of what localhost actually is. | | |
| ▲ | rambojohnson 41 minutes ago | parent [-] | | If the biggest issue you found in the article is the localhost gloss, Meta probably got off easy. |
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| ▲ | Velocifyer 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | “A loopback network interface” or “A interface that refers to the same host”. | |
| ▲ | istumbler 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | “A network interface which allows processes on the same internet host to communicate without the need for a network connection” | | |
| ▲ | Retr0id 7 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | There's a lot of layperson-unfriendly words in there! Iterating on that: "A feature that allows multiple programs on the same device to communicate without the need for an internet connection" | | |
| ▲ | thewebguyd 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Some concepts just can't (or shouldn't) be broken down to the level of lay person friendly though. There are just some technical concepts that have a complexity floor that if you drop below you are no longer explaining the actual concept but a fantasy. For a judge trying to rule on a technical case, a poor layperson analogy and lead to a confidently wrong legal conclusion that has serious negative consequences. Thats why court appointed neutral experts are important. | | |
| ▲ | d1sxeyes 6 hours ago | parent [-] | | A way for computer programs to talk to each other on the same device as though they were running on different devices connected over a network. I agree with you by the way, I just don’t think this is one of those cases. | | |
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| ▲ | FergusArgyll 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | a pty fits that definition though |
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| ▲ | dnnddidiej 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | It is like having a pool room at home instead of playing at the bar. Facebook want to snoop around your pool room. |
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| ▲ | gruez 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| docket: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70448987/in-re-meta-and... |
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| ▲ | htx80nerd 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| im failing to see the connection >standard pixel tracking, linked to meta (js , web) >Meta exploited Android's localhost (os level) |
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| ▲ | netsharc 3 hours ago | parent [-] | | - Instagram/Facebook app listening on localhost port X. - A website running JS on the browser tries to connect to localhost port X. If it succeeds it's now talking to Zuck's app. - The JS can report whatever it wants to the app, and the app knows the identity of the browsing user, because ~100% of the time it's the user also logged into the app(s). |
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