Show HN: We scanned uscis.gov for third-party trackers. The results are jarring
a day ago
- #government-websites
- #privacy
- #third-party-tracking
- A deep scan of uscis.gov revealed the presence of seven high-risk third-party services capable of cross-site tracking, including Facebook's SDK and plugins, Google AdSense, and Google Tag Manager, which loads scripts like Google Analytics and YouTube tracking.
- These tracking services operate across the site, including pages where users share sensitive immigration information such as case statuses, biometric appointment schedules, and personal details, without providing any consent banner or opt-out mechanism.
- While some third-party services like Salesforce and Siteimprove serve legitimate functions, the inclusion of Facebook's tracking-capable tools on an immigration website raises significant privacy concerns, especially given federal requirements to assess privacy risks under OMB M-10-23.