Links being posted are often problematic - because we are being tracked around the web with a

[summer_in_TX]

lot of extra letters and symbols tacked on after the main link. But we don't always know how to get rid of the junk without breaking the link.

Those cookies tell them how many come from any given social media, often allowing them to target you with advertising, while boosting the site's numbers and making them more attractive to web advertisers.

If you'd rather not be tracked, here's what to do.

Many main links end in a forward slash. Everything after that can and should be deleted. (To make sure you haven't cut something essential, you can always paste the newly shortened link into a web browser and see if it works to bring up the article or website you wanted to share.)

Other main links end in .html or .ph or .php. Everything after that can go. Frequently the tracking code will begin with a question mark. Look for that and delete it and everything after it. Then test what remains to make sure it still works.

[Dave Bowman]

1. Great tips. Thanks. 👍

[KT2000]

2. Good info - thank you!

[usonian]

3. Look for a question mark after the html or file type

99.999%+ of the time, it's a tracker. Just delete. Might be a "gift link" code, but try the safe route first.

Thx for the post.

[LearnedHand]

4. It's a little more subtle than looking for a forward slash

But you are one thousand percent that we should be very diligent to scrub the beacons and trackers from URLs. Here are the instructions:

HOW TO SCRUB A URL BEFORE YOU POST IT
1. Paste your URL into a DU post while composing but before you post it.
2. Locate the question mark near the front of the URL.
3. Select and delete the question mark and everything after it, then post your reply.

EXAMPLE FROM SUBSTACK
https://open.substack.com/pub/wonkette/p/trump-and-dont-say-gay-come-for-the?r=2u9mwx&utm_medium=ios

See the question mark in bold above? Select it and everything after it and DELETE IT. Final result looks like this:

https://open.substack.com/pub/wonkette/p/trump-and-dont-say-gay-come-for-the

[summer_in_TX]

10. Thanks, LearnedHand!

Should one of us compile the tips and cross-post it to General Discussion?

Yours are very helpful.

[QED]

5. This is helpful...

I've been using DuckDuckGo for a browser the past week. It has refused a lot of tracking attempts. Does it block those you mentioned?

[LearnedHand]

6. Not if you copy and paste a dirty URL into the address bar

[GoneOffShore]

7. Firefox gives the option to 'Copy Without Site Tracking'

Just discovered it this morning.
Two finger gesture on MacOS Multi-Touch trackpad.
Right click on Windows?
You might want to cross post this in GD, though it will fall down the list quickly.

[summer_in_TX]

9. Helpful, thanks!

[CloudWatcher]

8. This helps, but there's more you can do ...

Good advice, but I'd also suggest:

- Switch to duckduckgo.com for searching. Most browsers have a preference setting to change your default search engine. This was the biggest single win for me in reducing crappy ads following me around.

- Use a good ad blocker, so their knowledge of you is useless.

- Never click on an ad, even if you want the product. Go buy it without feeding the ad infrastructure. Buy retail if possible!

Oh, and please boycott Amazon. They're evil.

[LearnedHand]

11. DDG has been my go-to search engine for quite a few years

However, I notice they are now enshittifying as fast as they can go. Botshit answers in the top results, always shitty sites you've never heard of for your "answers." I'm considering subscribing to Kagi. You pay a nominal monthly or yearly subscription for absolutely brilliant results. Cory Doctorow, the creator of the enshittification term and concept, waxes absolutely poetic about Kagi.

https://kagi.com/