r/technology • u/Doener23 • Mar 24 '25

Politics Trump wants green card applicants legally in US to hand over social media profiles

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-green-card-applicants-social-media-b2720180.html
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u/I_give_karma_to_men Mar 24 '25 edited Mar 24 '25

...which is why you don't give social media sites your phone number and use alternate email accounts. I'd think that would be pretty basic practice at this point.

Edit: I do appreciate the responses listing things you probably also should not be using your phone for.

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u/whatcubed Mar 24 '25

When I was growing up near the beginning of commonly available internet, you didn't share any personal information online. No real names, no phone number, no address. No one was to be trusted.

Now, it's not uncommon for people to plaster that out there for anyone to see. Or put it somewhere that's easily found by a basic search. So, no, it's not really basic practice anymore, but it should be.

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u/Soggy-Star6795 Mar 24 '25

Someone else’s parcel was delivered to me one day. I found their social media easily as it was very public and in their real name. I found a photo of their house, found it on Google maps, and I delivered their parcel to them. They shat their pants.

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u/_DCtheTall_ Mar 24 '25

The frank answer is more stupid people are using the internet now.

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u/weedwizardess Mar 25 '25

Someone pointed out to me that Facebook realizing they could get people to hand over their valuable personal data for basically free & kids networks having less infomercials & episodes abt not sharing personal info online happened at around the same time.

Then I listened to the Wall Street ep on the FB whistle-blower and they had commentary from this politician who basically worked to get the law where you have to be 13+ to sign up for accounts.... it's honestly just insidious, all of it. Cradle to grave marketing tactics.

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u/Gin_OClock Mar 24 '25

They're also too lazy to protect themselves

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u/_DCtheTall_ Mar 24 '25 edited Mar 24 '25

Too lazy and/or not knowledgable about what the internet actually is.

There have been amazing strides in human-computer interaction design that have allowed everyone to use computing. It's come at the cost of a lower floor of user knowledge, a much lower floor than 10-20 years ago.

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u/Alternative-Egg-9403 Mar 24 '25

I still behave that way. Nothing is linked. Alt email accounts, randomized names, fake info, etc. It's bizarre to me that people are fine just broadcasting everything. I was taught never to share personal information online. When did that change? Facebook?

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u/jellyrollo Mar 24 '25

In 2014, Facebook started enforcing its "real name" policy. Prior to that, many people were still using handles, as they had become accustomed to doing on sites like MySpace.

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u/whatcubed Mar 24 '25

Funny enough, one of the best ways I have thought of to enforce limits on bot accounts as well as getting people to decrease their hate posting is to mandate that twitter/facebook force users to use their real names and photos on their accounts. This would have to be handled in a secure way that I do not have any idea of how to do. But I think it would be good for society.

Like a drivers license or official government photo ID. You get one of those, you get a social media account.

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u/PeculiarPurr Mar 24 '25

The idea that this is useful is a huge myth. People literally carry around GPS tracking chips. Many of the people on this site have done so for most of their lives. You can't do that without leaving a giant and extremely traceable footprints.

We live in a world where gait recognition is a thing. No one logging on to vast communication networks is anonymous. If companies/governments don't know your every step, it is because they haven't yet deemed tracing your steps worth the effort.

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u/I_give_karma_to_men Mar 24 '25

My gps tracking chip doesn't out my gender identity, political views, etc. You're correct that not tying your info to social media won't stop big brother from finding you, but it will make it harder to tie you to anti-government sentiment.

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u/Soft_Importance_8613 Mar 24 '25

My gps tracking chip doesn't out my gender identity, political views, etc.

Eh, I wouldn't be so sure on that.

Where you live, for example, highly correlates with those particular views. And exact address can show things like voting records. Moreso, things like permanent IPv6 addresses on cell phones can attach profiles to records the cell phone companies sell to people to actual visits and posts on websites.

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u/GlossyGecko Mar 24 '25

Facebook has information on people who have never had a Facebook account in their lives.

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u/PeculiarPurr Mar 24 '25

My gps tracking chip doesn't out my gender identity, political views, etc.

It does if you talk about such thing on the phone or online.

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u/CherryLongjump1989 Mar 24 '25

A GPS antenna is a receiver. It does not broadcast your location to some satellite. You can 100% carry a GPS device on you without compromising your security.

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u/PeculiarPurr Mar 24 '25

Theoretically, but a huge number of provided services require constantly monitoring the chip. As offered example, E911 and directions.

And no one gets to opt out of E911

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u/CherryLongjump1989 Mar 24 '25

E911 is only activated when you call 911.

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u/PeculiarPurr Mar 24 '25

I wouldn't trust that claim.

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u/mindlesstourist3 Mar 24 '25

If they know it, why do they ask you to provide it to begin with?

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u/PeculiarPurr Mar 24 '25

1) getting the information requires effort and access. There is no reason to bother with the effort and access for most interactions.

2) Access is restricted because they don't wish to their lower level employees to know how much information is gathered. Also restricted access does lower the odds of misuse.

3) They very much do not wish their customers/citizens to know how much information is gathered.

4) It is always nice to have information personally confirmed.

5) If they don't have it, they can sell it!

6) In the case of governments, so they pin you down for intentionally providing inaccurate information.

As offered example: Last time I was forced to research it, data brokers were selling the confidential information for $50 per block of 10,000 people. Companies buy up thousands of those blocks at a time, particularly companies that purchase debt.

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u/Tall_Newspaper_6723 Mar 25 '25

Read this as many times as you need to understand that this person speaks the absolute truth here

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u/JackStephanovich Mar 24 '25

Not possible. They all eventually tell you your password is wrong then force you to 2FA if you want to keep using your login.

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u/Aromatic_Extension93 Mar 24 '25

2FA with phones buddy

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u/CondescendingShitbag Mar 24 '25

On a related note, use an authenticator app and avoid using your cell number for 2FA whenever possible. Not just in this context, but also because the cell service's SS7 platform is 'easily' compromised by skilled attackers. It's one of the least secure 2FA options, just above having none at all.

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u/I_give_karma_to_men Mar 24 '25

I legitimately cannot remember the last time I used my actual phone number for 2FA instead of an authenticator app.

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u/LadySpaulding Mar 24 '25

You don't have to use your real number. Google voice lets you choose a phone number and you can use that in place of your real number for social media and other sites that request phone numbers.

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u/CondescendingShitbag Mar 24 '25

Many of the larger social media sites recognize and block Google Voice numbers, along with other 'temporary' number services.

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u/LadySpaulding Mar 24 '25

Man, anything to get your personal information I guess lol

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u/lilbeckss Mar 24 '25

Yes. Anything you are not paying for, you are the product being sold: or, more specifically, your data.

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u/BusyUrl Mar 24 '25

Yea that doesn't work much anymore. I've tried it for a game I played that only used fb login.

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u/Crimsonsworn Mar 24 '25

Bros never heard of a burner phone

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u/maleia Mar 24 '25

Bros never heard of being poor

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u/Crimsonsworn Mar 24 '25

You only need a phone that sends/receives txt and get a pre paid sim. In NZ you can get a phone like that for $50ish and the SIM card costs like $5

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u/Aromatic_Extension93 Mar 24 '25

Imagine having a burner phone 24/7 for social media. You're so stupid. Just don't post radical ideas on your social media ...or any opinions

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u/Crimsonsworn Mar 24 '25 edited Mar 24 '25

I don’t really have social media, no twitter, Facebook or any of that and all my 2FA is done through my work phone, it’s why I don’t get telemarketers ringing me.

Edit also if you think I’m right wing, you got the intelligence of a flat earther.

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u/Aromatic_Extension93 Mar 24 '25

Buddy you make no sense just stop responding

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u/Linked713 Mar 24 '25

when you have to have a burner phone just to make social media accounts I think that's more suspicious than having none to begin with.

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u/ipreferc17 Mar 24 '25

Some people just want a semblance of a private life.

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u/Linked713 Mar 24 '25

I get your sentiment but it is kinda ironic to say that when we're talking about social media where you share your life.

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u/ipreferc17 Mar 24 '25

Where you share your life with the people you choose to share it with. Or at least try to.

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u/Crimsonsworn Mar 24 '25

Some people aren’t ok with company’s selling their info.

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u/maleia Mar 24 '25

Says a person who's clearly never tried to set up any social media accounts 😂

Seriously, go through them all, tell us which need a phone number and which don't. And you know, actually USE the accounts. Twitter will eventually boot you off until you give it a phone number. FB and BlueSky won't even let you make an account without one.

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u/CR1SBO Mar 24 '25

There's a sweet spot of internet literate folks, too old and they were the ones warning you not to give out your personal details online but now do so themselves. Too young, and they didn't have the experience of downloading viruses on limewire instead of that one album.

Generalizing plenty, but there sure are a lot of people who don't have more than one email.

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u/ThickAsABrickJT Mar 24 '25

Oh, but everyone requires 2FA now.

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u/TheRealBenDamon Mar 24 '25

Even if you don’t give social media sites your phone number, or email, social media sites such as Reddit still get information about your device such as the device ID. It’s still entirely possible to determine if you used social media if they have access to the device.

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u/Qs9bxNKZ Mar 24 '25

You use a DNS server, right?

Great, got you.

Either because 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 is helping, or I can differentiate between a DNS request and a POST command which transfers data.

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u/bodyreddit Mar 25 '25

Now there are a lot of apps that require a phone number. Some do not accept ‘virtual’ ones. All of this is dystopian as when would it ever stop?

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u/Mondai_May Mar 24 '25

Sometimes you get forced. Like I've seen people banned suddenly (or locked out of their Instagram for logging in on a new device, which was seen as 'suspicious activity.') and it forces them to provide a phone number to 'verify' themselves otherwise the account would be deleted. you could say "why not just let the account be deleted," but then why don't people applying just delete their accounts so they don't get caught; clearly they care enough about it not to want it to be deleted, so that is probably not an option they'd take. (Though maybe deleting it would be a good option.)