Fedora, app tracking, privacy etc

Ask Fedora
1

Greetings.

I’ve tried to find answers by throttling through the world wide web, but nothing seems to satisfy my curiosity in regards to Fedora (Linux) and app tracking and general privacy. We’ve all heard how great Linux is for privacy and security, but does that actually cover apps/software too?

For comparison and simplicity, my iPhone can prevent apps from tracking my activity from one app to the other. Apple’s private relay allows my browser activity to stay more private and secure through Apple’s servers. Etc. etc.

What’s the status with Fedora? Can “Simplenote” or “Rhythmbox” track me around and create a profile, and even share information about me and my computer with its developers or third parties?

Thanks,
JM.

2

The software packaged by Fedora does not track you.
Its one of the project principles.

However if you install software from outside of Fedora’s repos then you will need to check what the provider’s privacy policy is.

2 Likes
3

Thanks, Barry. By “packaged by Fedora”, do you mean anything I install via the default software manager that comes pre-installed with Fedora? Regardless of the source being flathub or Fedora “rpm”?

4

I mean RPMs from the Fedora repos.
I’m not a flatpak user and do not know enough about how they are built.
Someone that’s knowledgeable about flatpaks should answer.

5

So, by ‘Fedora repos’ you mean apps/RPMs signed with “Fedora Linux. fedoraproject.org”?

6

This sounds a bit like a contradictio in terminis, since Apple is tracking every move you make, and you don’t know what happens with that data.

I wouldn’t trust Apple for a minute with my private information.

1 Like
7

Though websites can track you cookies and other means, independent of Fedoras privacy policies.

8

That’s a fair point. Let’s just say I trust my data in some hands. But, I would still like to know if a company or a OS tracks me, even Fedora. What do they harvest and for what purpose?

9

Of course if you browse the web you leak information just by the act of doing a DNS lookup.

But the OP is asking for apps that track directly I think, not the indirect tracking that is done by access the internet.