This appears to be built into the core functionality of the Avast Online Security extension. I'm not sure data sharing options will help. Best to just remove the security extension or Avast altogether.
I think many (most?) Avast users don't realize there's an option during install where if you click Customize you can uncheck all the crapware and install only the main shields (File, Web, Mail, Behaviour). Not sure, though, if that's enough to eliminate all eventual data sharing telemetry.
No kidding. Everyone knows that Avast is basically spyware. And the worst thing is, they are not the only AV company that does this. I'm sick and tired of all this data telemetry stuff in order to "improve the product".
Mozilla removes all Avast Firefox extensions December 3, 2019 https://www.ghacks.net/2019/12/03/mozilla-removes-all-avast-firefox-extensions/
Privacy gets top billing in Firefox moves https://techxplore.com/news/2019-12-privacy-billing-firefox.html
Senator Wyden Asks Avast Antivirus Why it Sells Users' Browsing Data Wyden’s questions come after Mozilla removed Avast's and AVG’s extensions for harvesting user data December 11, 2019 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v744v9/senator-ron-wyden-asks-avast-selling-users-browsing-data
Are You One Of Avast’s 400 Million Users? This Is Why It Collects And Sells Your Web Habits. https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...lects-and-sells-your-web-habits/#6bf939b62bdc
Google removes Avast and AVG add-ons from Chrome over data-mining claims Avast sees it differently December 18, 2019 https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3084749/chrome-removes-avg-avast-add-ons-data-mining
Avast and AVG Firefox Extensions Added Back to Mozilla Addons Site December 22, 2019 https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...extensions-added-back-to-mozilla-addons-site/
LOL, and this is supposed to be an improvement? The most important thing is still being tracked. This also shows that Mozilla and Google are full of ****.
The Cost of Avast's Free Antivirus: Companies Can Spy on Your Clicks https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-cost-of-avasts-free-antivirus-companies-can-spy-on-your-clicks -------------- Avast is in hot waters again: subsidiary sells browsing data https://www.ghacks.net/2020/01/28/avast-is-in-hot-waters-again-subsidiary-sells-browsing-data/
It makes me wonder about all those times Avast was at the top of the heap in those comparatives studies so often. Guess I'll go back and look around for some YouTube stuff, you know, independent-like. Back when I used AVG paid a few years ago, before Avast, it was quite good. Save me a couple of times, must admit.
“The data is anonymized according to Avast which means that personally identifiable information such as a user’s IP address or email addresses are removed from the data before it is sold. While that looks good on paper, methods exists to de-anonymize data.” So Mozilla can sell browsing data to Cliqz “because it’s anonymized” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliqz#Integration_with_Firefox), most of big tech companies will claim every collection and processing moral right on our data as long as it’s anonymized, but when their not-friend Avast does it too suddenly they remember that it’s still bad to do that, and that in particular data can be de-anonymized? Let me add something that people tend to forget in these times of death of digital rights, that de-anonymization is not the only reason, not even the main reason why this kind of anonymized data collection is bad: the main reason is that our data belongs to us, not to some business whose code we’re running on our devices.
