Meta Workers Can Opt Out of Workplace Tracking for Up to 30 Minutes
- Reference: 0183582778
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/03/1713239/meta-workers-can-opt-out-of-workplace-tracking-for-up-to-30-minutes
- Source link:
> [Stephane Kasriel, a vice president in Meta's AI model-building Superintelligence Labs unit] said the team behind the software had also introduced "several optimizations" to reduce its impact on computer battery life, after employees complained it was consuming so much data it was causing their home internet usage to spike. "While we remain confident in the privacy protections we put in place at launch, which went through several layers of risk review, we have heard your concerns about personal data on work devices, battery life, and wanting more control over when capturing happens," Kasriel said in the memo.
[1] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/04/21/1849217/meta-to-start-capturing-employee-mouse-movements-keystrokes-for-ai-training-data
[2] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/05/12/2242241/meta-employees-launch-protest-against-mouse-tracking-tech-at-us-offices
[3] https://www.reuters.com/world/meta-scales-back-ai-mouse-clicks-tool-citing-employee-concerns-2026-06-02/
This just seems weird. (Score:2)
I don't think Meta can have it both ways like this. Either they respect their employees, or they don't.
I am just glad I don't work for Meta. I feel sad for you all. I hope you can find something better.
Re: This just seems weird. (Score:2)
Just don't work for an employer that tracks their employees to that level.
Re: (Score:2)
Sure you can. Just like how some people get a pass on work from home. This is a way to deal with employees you need who credibly threaten to leave while using the process to fire anyone else without severance.
They can opt out for longer than that (Score:2)
by working someplace else.
Re: (Score:2)
From what the SWEs tell me, they expect to be fired within 2 years anyway, they're just cashing in the stupid monery paycheck while they can.
What I'd love to know is the levels of shadow IT people are going through.
Re: (Score:2)
> by working someplace else.
By "someplace else", you mean the whopping 5% of the corporate workplace that doesn't engage in some form of all-knowing, all-seeing cloudfare, wholly addicted to the telemetrysphere of the MicroAzureSoft Oracle letting them know of your every mouse move, because the AI needz moar data?
I wouldn't be surprised if they've captured zero gravity mouse telemetry by now.
Re: (Score:2)
Nah, this is Slashdot. Of course everyone job is a developer job. Nothing else exist.
Re: (Score:2)
What he means is not all companies care for the overhead it'd take to do this much monitoring of their staff
Zuckerberg be like (Score:2)
"I'm really getting sick of having to do 30 minute opt outs all the time!.
Really? (Score:2)
For 30 minutes your keystrokes/visibility data goes into a bucket labeled, "target requested no monitoring 00:00 to 30:00."
This is Dickensian.
concerns about personal data on work devices (Score:2)
If someone who works for a company, especially Meta, is doing anything personal on their work owned equipment they're complete morons.
Heck, id be concerned even allowing a Meta corporate laptop on my home network at all (even if its split to a separate subnet)
Re: (Score:2)
This. I'm never understood why people do "personal" stuff on their work devices. Your phone can pretty much do anything that needs being done these days and you don't have to connect to the corporate network with it.
As far as work devices and privacy, get real. You have no privacy on a work device because it's not your device. Besides, what are you trying to keep secret while at work on a corporate device? If you are busy fucking off all day at work and you are using your work device to do so, you deserve w
And if you do this... (Score:2)
you're FIRED!
let me guess... (Score:2)
When they take a 30 minute unpaid Lunch break?
Re: (Score:2)
Why should you get paid to eat lunch? Besides, if you are salary, you are paid what you are paid. Hourly, you get paid for the hours you work. If you are at lunch, you are not working.
Cyberpunk was a warning, not a template (Score:2)
Good grief, what a hellishly dystopian headline
I read this part before, I think (Score:3)
> As O'Brien passed the telescreen a thought seemed to strike him. He stopped, turned aside and pressed a switch on the wall. There was a sharp snap. The voice had stopped.
> Julia uttered a tiny sound, a sort of squeak of surprise. Even in the midst of his panic, Winston was too much taken aback to be able to hold his tongue.
> 'You can turn it off!' he said.
> 'Yes,' said O'Brien, 'we can turn it off. We have that privilege.'
Re: (Score:2)
George Orwell was only slightly off about the date. It's a trope that SciFi always gets the date wrong.
Re: (Score:2)
He was also wrong about Big Brother having to threaten or force people to adopt telescreens.
Re: (Score:2)
Of course, they don't mention that they never stop recording. They just turn off your view of them off, not their view of you.
Enough time to piss at least (Score:2)
That's enough time to piss a few times a day. Until they decide that they need AI to learn how to do that as well.
That's about enough time ... (Score:2)
.. for me to log onto the DoJ server and file my daily undercover surveillance report.
I dunno... (Score:2)
Is 30 minutes enough time to have a good wank?
Tracking users could backfire. (Score:2)
What happens when Big Brother realizes that you're actually working 12 hour days, but only getting paid for 8 hours, which puts them in violation of state labor laws? I was working far more hours than I was getting paid for while I was at Meta, but that's mostly 'cause I was working 425 miles away from my home and didn't really have anything else to do.
Re: (Score:2)
> What happens when Big Brother realizes that you're actually working 12 hour days, but only getting paid for 8 hours, which puts them in violation of state labor laws?
In my experience, they just turn a blind eye to the free labor you are providing because they are assholes that will gladly take advantage of you. That's why you don't work off the clock. Why give away your industry for free and allow them to profit off your labor? Screw that noise.
Re: (Score:2)
> ... didn't really have anything else ...
You'd rather 'go' work, than 'go' home? That makes you sound boring, mentally unstable and burnt-out.
You agreed to work for Meta. (Score:2)
This is like getting a job at slaughterhouse and then complaining that it isn't a vegan-friendly workplace.
Re: (Score:2)
I mean, you can bring your own lunch that's vegan. At the same time, you can check your activist bullshit at the door though. That's not what work is about.
Meta workers expecting privacy? Why? (Score:1)
It took me much longer than 30 minutes to comprehensively block all Meta tracking, still fighting with SO to delete WhatsApp account. So let me play the tiniest violin about Meta workers complaining about lack of privacy at work.
And I'm sure Meta won't violate it (Score:1)
They would never violate anyone's privacy, pinky swear!
Re: (Score:3)
> They would never violate anyone's privacy, pinky swear!
And the number of times you opt out won't appear on your performance reviews, or factor into raises, bonuses and retention - double pinky swear ...
Re: (Score:2)
yeah I was just about to post this.
"hmmm, Megan, let's take a look at your op-out scores last quarter . . . "
Re: (Score:2)
If my whole day is working on a computer, the last thing I'm doing is using the computer on my lunch break. Eat, take a walk outside or something.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm as big of a privacy and security advocate as anyone. Heck, I even disconnect my EV's and only run them over network connections that I fully control. I also rarely use cloud services because they are NOT under my control, but as an IT guy, I fully believe in full control by the OWNER of devices, whether that be a single person or a company. If an employee is using company provided equipment, then they (the company) have a right to know and control every single thing done on it and every single bit of in