Does EasyList+Privacy already cover Google's Opt-Out Plugin?

[tempguest]

Is Google's Advertising Cookie Opt-out Plugin necessary ( http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/plugin/ ) if I have ABP running EasyList + EasyPrivacy?

Basically, will it do anything in addition to what's already being done?

[dfgkjskjdskjfkjsdjfsjdhfsdf]

you only have to add google-analytics.com to your filters because EasyPrivacy wants not to add it to their list.

[tempguest]

Okay, so just to be clear, since I have this filter:

Code: Select all

||google-analytics.com^$third-party

in my custom filters already, that extension is completely useless?

[Michael]

The filter referenced should remove the unwanted items in a far more effective manner than the extension. However, please be aware that blocking the domain results in problems on dozens of websites, and you may therefore be required to whitelist the item on certain domains.

[reepicheep]

The issue is control. If I use AdBlockPlus and various subscriptions instead of Google's plugin then I control the environment. Also using this plug-in could provide Google with informaton that I don't want them to have ... namely that I've opt-ed out. And as with UCE this should be opt-in not opt-out.

By the way, Google Analytics was the very first thing I put into my personal filter rules ... even before I subscribed to various lists. So far I've not encountered a web that relies upon it. Maybe I'm not that adventurous in my surfing but in the years since I installed ABP and created that filter I've noticed no problems.

[Michael]

The filter that Ares2 removed from EasyPrivacy a year and a half ago was:

Code: Select all

.google-analytics.com/$domain=~asos.com|~beatport.com|~britannica.com|~catalog.belkin.com|
~crushorflush.com|~designer.userbars.com|~expotv.com|~forex.com|~gamepro.com|
~gmodules.com|~jonathancoulton.com|~krone.tv|~minyanville.com|~oasisactive.com|
~reiseplanung.de|~sirius.com|~smash247.com|~songza.com|~tangle.com|~typeracer.com|
~yestosafesex.com

Every domain exception refers to a particular known issue. It is also probable that the rule caused problems on other websites that were not reported to Ares2.

[tempguest]

Thank you Michael and reepicheep, that was actually a much more thorough answer than I was expecting; it explains a lot for me.

[JasonT]

Would someone please describe what goes wrong with some websites if Google-Analytics is blocked? Is it easy to notice? What happens, what should one look for to discover that the website is having problems?

[vinny86]

GA is integrated sometimes too nicely into websites, hence breaks web pages.
Missing text/sections, loss in functionality, unclickable buttons... hard to pinpoint really.
Add the enhanced trackers list from fanboy, they have a good whitelist for the google analytics script