It should be noted that the "correct" usage of /etc/machine-id is that you use it in a way that doesn't allow cross-correlation between different applications by using a HMAC of the machine-id with an application-specific UUID instead of using it directly. systemd-id128 has a command line flag to do this for you.

Whether everyone does that correctly, that's a different question. On the other hand, while developers should be more careful about how they use identifiers like this, if an application on your machine wants to track you they don't need /etc/machine-id.

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ranger_danger an hour ago | parent [-]

Yes I think privacy and security on the desktop has fallen way behind mobile and we need much stronger protection these days.

	▲	jolmg 35 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Mobile's came at the cost of composability between programs and the imposition of policy, which are against the Unix Philosophy. I wouldn't make that trade. Mobile's a sad state of affairs, inferior to desktop in many ways. You can most likely get better security than mobile's, you just need to e.g. learn to write your own SELinux policies, etc.