I am struggling to find an explicitly privacy-focused package tracking app. I scoured Reddit and online articles, I also searched on F-Droid but see no clear winner so far.
OneTracker and 17Track seem pretty horrible between their privacy policies/permissions required/app telemetry defaults.
AfterShip seems like the least concerning option I have found at this point, but that isn’t saying much. Their privacy policy explicitly dictates they do not sell your data to 3rd parties and their app telemetry seems focused on improving user experience rather than marketing but they do share your date with 3rd parties for service improvement.
Does anyone have alternative app recommendations for this?
1 Like
It is best to just use the official shippers website. No need to disclose your shipments to random third party apps/services.
here are some handy (USA specific) direct links
https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=NUMBER
https://www.ups.com/track?requester=QUIC&tracknum=NUMBER/trackdetails
https://www.fedex.com/fedextrack/?action=track&trackingnumber=NUMBER&cntry_code=us&locale=en_us
3 Likes
Its what Ive been using after finding it to be the least bad option.
That assumes you know who the shipper is and that it doesnt go through multiple different shippers before it reaches you. Oftentimes only third party tools can navigate that web
Ive done some online shopping and I’ve yet to encounter any legitimate online seller that hasnt disclosed their shipping service and tracking number.
Also to reiterate what @SkewedZeppelin said, not everything has to be an App.
You can also apply the Principle of Least Priviledge when it comes to general thoughts on privacy. You dont need to tell 3rd parties what you are doing with another party (in this case the shipping service).
2 Likes
It can happen due to multiple different circumstances. Its common in many parts of the world for shippers to subcontract services to each other. You might purchase shipping from DHL and DPD shows up to pickup the package, for example. The DHL tracking number you were provided will maybe not work on DHL’s website or give few updates with litte detail. Use it on DPD’s website and you have the full tracking history. Seller will usually not tell you to do that or which company picked up the package. Not out of malice, they simply dont care enough to keep track of it all and to tell each costumer that after all it was x or y company picking it up.
Another situation, common in international shipping, is packages going through multiple shippers with no info that there has been a change in the company providing the updates. Third party apps usually track that. This happens with basically every order from the popular chinese stores like aliexpress, as an example. Speaking of that, good luck using the first party website of the shippers they use at the beginning of the journey in China if you dont understand the language