Avast WEBforum

Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: REDACTED on September 12, 2015, 09:38:17 PM

Title: How can I disable data collection on avast
Post by: REDACTED on September 12, 2015, 09:38:17 PM

I just installed avast.During the installation there was a page clearly stated that avast av reports some data including all the urls i visited and weather they're infected or not. In the same page it said i could disable this "feature" after installation. But i can't see any option similar in settings. Is it buried deep in the UI or hiding right in front of me ?

Title: Re: How can I disable data collection on avast
Post by: Pondus on September 12, 2015, 10:33:46 PM

Tried FAQ section     ;)


https://www.avast.com/en-us/faq.php?

Title: Re: How can I disable data collection on avast
Post by: REDACTED on September 12, 2015, 11:36:29 PM

I don't think it's in the faq

Title: Re: How can I disable data collection on avast
Post by: Lisandro on September 13, 2015, 03:27:38 AM

Explanation about data collection: https://blog.avast.com/2015/05/29/avast-data-drives-new-analytics-engine/
Technical explanation and how to opt-out: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=171725.msg1218988#msg1218988
More detailed info: https://www.avast.com/privacy-policy and contacts for asking opt-out.

Title: Re: How can I disable data collection on avast
Post by: REDACTED on September 13, 2015, 07:55:54 AM

Thanks for the links. Here is the usefull part for future googlers:

Quote

Users can remove themselves from the system in two ways – by unchecking the “Statistics“ box in the Avast browser add-on settings (see attached picture), or by sending an email to customer support requesting to have their information deleted. If a user wants to be deleted, the system automatically blacklists their user ID from all data transforming activities.

Title: Re: How can I disable data collection on avast
Post by: Lisandro on September 13, 2015, 03:33:56 PM

And this for the truth:

Quote

We have always strived to have an honest relationship with our users, and we will continue to do so. Currently we do not make any money from this relationship but it is an experiment as to whether we can fund our security products indirectly instead of nagging our users to upgrade. As most people are aware, most all products we use every day—Chrome, Facebook, Firefox, WhatsApp, Gmail, etc.—are indirectly funded by advertisements. In most cases though, the products directly examine what users are doing and provide them targeted advertisements. Although we suspect some security companies are doing this, we do not believe it is the proper approach. Instead, we think that this anonymized, aggregated approach is much better to maintain the trust relationship that we think is so important between us and you, our loyal users.

Vincent Steckler, Avast CEO