Is Fedora Spyware Now?

Today I talk about Fedora's proposal to collect user data.
👇 PULL IT DOWN FOR THE GOOD STUFF 👇

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==== Time Stamps ====
0:00 Intro
1:33 The Proposal
2:48 What Data Will They Collect?
4:35 Opt Out vs Opt In
10:04 GDPR
11:54 Who Has Access to the Data?
14:33 My Thoughts
15:05 Is Telemetry ever OKAY?
18:56 My Question For You
19:31 Wrapping Up

#fedora #privacy #thelinuxcast

[TheLinuxCast]

Leaving a LIKE really helps the channel!

[afroceltduck]

I can't believe no one working on this proposal took a look at the Linux news of the past two weeks and said "Hey, maybe this isn't the right time to bring this up"

[ransan]

Users: NO! TELEMETRY BAD! Ask for feedback directly

Dev: Asks for feedback

Users: Go away, I don't have time for this

[ringo]

I'm not a Fedora user, but I tend towards the absolutist position on telemetry. I see it as a slippery slope: today it's "merely" de-personalized usage data, but what will it be tomorrow? Telemetry is what Windows does; I use Linux in large part to escape from that.

[ArniesTech]

Linux recently is like watching a reality TV show with the characters having on/off relationships 😂

Great video as always, Matt Sir 💪

[fragdq]

I'm actually fine with anonymous data being send to improve a distro. I have much more trust into fedora/red hat than i would with MS of course. But opt-in has to be an option for sure.

[KingBowserLP]

The really bad bit about this proposal didn't even make it into the video - whether you opt-in or opt-out, *the data is collected regardless.* The toggle only influences whether that data is sent or not. Meaning, anyone with access to the machine or the filesystem has access to that data.
In these times of increased surveillance and state repression, the thought of more trackable data (and it is, by virtue of being on your system, associated with you) is scary to me.

[raxelgrande]

Luckily, there are a lot of people in the forum fighting for avoiding this from happening or at least steering the telemetry to be as harmless as possible.

[yomboprime]

I think nowadays it is absolutely necessary for a big distro to know its device base. But not its user base. The truth is that information tends to accumulate and information is power.

[no-stresscat]

I think all distributions shouldn't even have telemetry built in. That's the main reason I got away from Microsoft's Spyware OS. For those who wish to opt in, it should be available as a separate application to download and install.

[linuxdabbler]

Great video as always Matt. Keep it up buddy.

[Mugnmastr]

Thanks for making a video on this topic. As a Fedora user, I can understand both sides of the discussion. I agree with the points that the proposal itself could have explained some things better, but in my opinion, there is also a right way to go about implementing any form of telemetry. I disagree with them making it an opt-out option for new Fedora users, especially because the details around what is being collected, along with how that data will be handled, at least for right now, are unclear. Me personally, I would have no issue sharing data with the Fedora team to help improve the distro as long as I had more information, but once again, that is just my take.

[mner]

Well, let's say I own a new house and i want to move in but the company that built the house has installed sensors in each one of the rooms, doors, windows, electrical switches etc of my house, and wants to collect telemetry from these sensors, in order to understand how me and my family spend our time inside it and how we interact with the house and it's appliances.
Their reasoning is that this way will identify how everything is utilized and will apply this knowledge to their next projects, streamlining their work, eliminating unnecessary switches, doors, windows and even spaces making homes less costly while being more efficient and smart and also offer cheap upgrade paths for existing home owners like me.
Why on earth should anyone accept this kind of intrusion inside their own homes? Even if i kind of trust the builders and even if I'm tempted by the 'benefits' there is no guaranties that this thing will not backfire in the future.

There is a fine line here that no one should be even tempted to cross. Not us and most of all not the builders.
This is how i see this drama with Fedora. The telemetry proposal should have been rejected the moment it came to be.
I understand the so called benefits but in this time and age our privacy is of utmost importance and cancels any kind of benefits stemming from telemetry schemes.
It' a matter of principle!

[exja]

With Debian I always opt in because I trust them.

On the privacy thing sometimes I wonder if it matters, it's more about equality, I don't mind losing my privacy as long as all the leaders also lose their privacy or the people tracking my shit lose their privacy and I know who they are and what they are doing with my data.

[AcidiFy]

It's the fact that they were making it "opt-out" that bugs me

[YannMetalhead]

The problem isn't the act in itself, the problem it is the mindset behind the act. Redhat are trying the waters to see what they can get away with, it starts with telemetry and then just go down hill from there. I used to recommend Fedora but from now on it's dead for me.

[tudor-octavian]

Opt-in or opt-out, I won't be bothered by it as long at there's a slider to turn of data collection and sending. While I understand that newer users or less technically inclined individuals might not think of turning that option off, I think it's a matter of digital hygiene. We have to teach people to look for these settings and turn them off if they don't want their data to be collected and sent.

Sure, it would have been a lot easier if Fedora didn't want to integrate these functions in the first place, but we have to understand that automation also helps them build a better distro for us. I used Windows for many years and in that OS...turning data collection and sending is NOT an option. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't mind as long as Fedora stops here with data collection. We need to make sure that if we're okay with this here and now, they won't try to take another step in the future...and then another one, and another one. The distro may be community-driven, but considering what's happening with Red Hat, I think we should start holding our ground more and more in the future. I love Fedora...been using it for a long time and I really don't want to see it corrupted to the point where it might look like Windows. Not even to a small degree.

Anyway, thanks for the content! I'm new here, but I already love the channel!

[tambuchalinux]

Dammit. And spoke so highly of Nobara. I think I might have to find an alternative distro to replace it. 😔

[JM-tjqm]

Regardless if is a good idea or not. Is the worst possible moment to talk about telemetry for Fedora when so many people are against Red Hat.

[debasishraychawdhuri]

I think some telemetry is okay, as long as it is sparse. So instead of collecting data about all the apps I am using, do it only once a week at a random time. It will still give you the same averages to work with, but not enough to give up what I am doing all the time. Better still, use differential privacy, which is a cryptographic technique, to collect data without preserving any identifiable information.