this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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You Should Know
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Well of course. The instance stores all data in a postgres database. How else will it be able to remember anything?
Maybe this is not obvious to non-programmers but you never see everything in the user interface for any system. There are tons of records needed for the system to track everything that goes on.
Since posts are federated, they will exist in the local db as well as on each instance.
It's not that it stores data, it's what data it stores. Your votes construct a very detailed profile that doesn't mean anything to another human but an AI can read it like a very simple book. They don't necessarily need to be so strongly associated with your account thanks to simple technology like hashing.
This is terrible news. I've just upvoted you, and an AI will finally know much I destest AI.
Sure but what danger lies in that? Users are not using their real identities here so they are semi-anonymous.
But it's the fact that it's so easy to reverse engineer. You can take that data to build a large profile on each user in your instance (or possibly all instances)
Sure, this can be abused. Build profiles on each user based on what they are talking about and what communities they subscribe to. Then start sending them direct Lemmy messages with ads or links to shitty or dangerous sites.
The fact that anyone can start an instance and get all this info sent to them is a bit unsettling. But we will have to find a way to protect against it.
That's not always the case. My username has heritage dating back all the way through to Slashdot, Digg and through Reddit. While you may not know me that doesn't mean I'm unknown or anonymous.
On Reddit I could upvote or downvote as I pleased, without exposing my POV on controversial topics to the general populace. Only commenting would actually out me. That's not the case with Lemmy and making people aware of that is a good thing, imo.
If you're a programmer, you'd know there are ways to authenticate a transaction without giving away giving aways, or storing, the person who initiated the transaction. It's more difficult to do of course. So it's often not done.
That's why the topic is "You Should Know" rather than "I've Had A Revelation That No One Has Ever Considered".
And it doesn't mean it's nefarious. It just means... you should know.
Ok... have to admit that I miss one thing from Reddit... I have no awards to give.