WT.....? Tapatalk spamming via TPF?

Tapatalk now accesses my forum email and sends me spam?

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Do what everybody else in the world does: hit Edit, tap to select, hit DELETE.
 
Do what everybody else in the world does: hit Edit, tap to select, hit DELETE.

So you're good with an app that is able to root around in parts of the forum that's normally off-limits?

Why bother with your email when it can access your password, then change your signature and avatar to an ad for Tapatalk?
 
...there must be a configuration setting on Tapatalk that will allow you to disable those notifications. Regardless, I agree it's annoying and invasive.
As a forum owner and administrator (flooring related), I do know that there is a Tapatalk setting for forum owners that allows Tapatalk to contact forum members. I suggest you let this forum's administrators know how you feel about this feature. Ask them to log into their Tapatalk account and go to the Trending tab to see the available options.

My hope is that you will not lose your cool when discussing it with them. They obviously thought this would be a good way to increase participation on the forum. That is it's intended purpose. What your screenshot shows is not spam - there's nothing there to sell. And Tapatalk has assured us forum owners that it will not use this feature to spam our members, nor will they sell or give away any email addresses.

If you don't like the feature, then speak up. But please don't be aggressive about it (not saying anyone has been yet).

I hope this information is helpful.

Jim
 
Why bother with your email when it can access your password, then change your signature and avatar to an ad for Tapatalk?
Please do a little research before you develop a conspiracy theory. This forum software is so secure that even the forum administration doesn't have access to your password. And there is no changing of any of your member settings, including your avatar or signature. What you may see in an email notification from Tapatalk is probably generated by the app specifically for the email notification. TPF has uploaded their own logo to Tapatalk for use by the app and they may have access to an avatar you have used that is associated with your email address on social media, Google or some other service and it is inserted into the email automatically to personalize it.
 
Your camera hacked your phone.
 
Why bother with your email when it can access your password, then change your signature and avatar to an ad for Tapatalk?
Please do a little research before you develop a conspiracy theory. This forum software is so secure that even the forum administration doesn't have access to your password. And there is no changing of any of your member settings, including your avatar or signature. What you may see in an email notification from Tapatalk is probably generated by the app specifically for the email notification. TPF has uploaded their own logo to Tapatalk for use by the app and they may have access to an avatar you have used that is associated with your email address on social media, Google or some other service and it is inserted into the email automatically to personalize it.

The avatar in the email is not mine.... it is of the person who 'liked' a post of mine. I radically edited the colors and pixelized it so that person's identity would not be revealed. Not that it had to be as this person's Like is publicly visible on the forum, but I felt that at least THEY should be allowed a little bit of privacy concerning this matter.

Ss for Admin not having access to passwords, maybe that's true with the software the forum here uses, but I know for a fact that's not always true as I have Admin rights at other sites and can readily call up anyone's password.

Please understand that not all of us are Admins on forums, and even those of us who are are not savvy with all the software that's available and all the settings and options unique to each. That vast majority of us here have no clue what is going on 'under the hood' of the forum. I just find it very unsettling that someone is able to access personal information that I feel should not be accessible.
 
The avatar in the email is not mine.... it is of the person who 'liked' a post of mine. I radically edited the colors and pixelized it so that person's identity would not be revealed. Not that it had to be as this person's Like is publicly visible on the forum, but I felt that at least THEY should be allowed a little bit of privacy concerning this matter.
You were notified, in the privacy of your email, of this. That information and more is available to anyone on the forum by clicking the "List" link in any post. No one's privacy was breached.

[As] for Admin not having access to passwords, maybe that's true with the software the forum here uses, but I know for a fact that's not always true as I have Admin rights at other sites and can readily call up anyone's password.
What you are probably seeing is not the password, but the encryption code, which is probably MD5 Hash and either with or without Salt. Those are technical terms that I don't understand, but I do know the displayed result does not include the person's actual password. It's pretty unlikely, but you can know for sure if you try to look up your own password that way. If it does show your password, then the forum software is antiquated (pre-2004 for some, even older for others) and you should not be using that site as a member. The forum owner must know how vulnerable that software is and chooses not to keep their members secure.

Please understand that not all of us are Admins on forums, and even those of us who are are not savvy with all the software that's available and all the settings and options unique to each. That vast majority of us here have no clue what is going on 'under the hood' of the forum. I just find it very unsettling that someone is able to access personal information that I feel should not be accessible.
If you are an admin, then you know that every forum software uses add-ons and plugins to add features and functions to the stock forum software. Tapatalk is a plugin. All the plugins need access to the software code to do what it is intended to do. In this case, the plugin and forum software worked together to bring to your email a little bit of information that is available to all members. It was designed to be a convenience to you and helps the forum owners increase participation. I may not like that particular method either, but I don't tell people it is a breach of security or privacy because it isn't. I know that because I am an admin, like you, so I prefer to allay the fears of regular members who don't understand the technology and am curious why you would use the opposite tact. I agree that this can be an intrusion and that members should let their forum administrators know if they don't like it. But keep it factual, especially if you have some understanding of the technology, which most admins should have.

Jim
 
You were notified, in the privacy of your email, of this. ..........

I was notified of what?

..........But keep it factual, especially if you have some understanding of the technology, which most admins should have.

Jim

Which I will reiterate............ most of us DON'T. Please do not expect everyone here to be willing to educate ourselves about the thousands of different softwares used on the thousands of various sites we visit. It just is not feasible.
 
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You were notified, in the privacy of your email, of this. ..........

I was notified of what?
You showed us all a screenshot of the notification. It told you there were likes on one of your posts. I apologize if that wasn't clear.

..........But keep it factual, especially if you have some understanding of the technology, which most admins should have.

Jim

Which I will reiterate............ most of us DON'T. Please do not expect everyone here to be willing to educate ourselves about the thousands of different softwares used on the thousands of various sites we visit. It just is not feasible.
But you DO. Even if you don't, you are a forum admin and have access to the information. I've got no problem with members asking or complaining about an issue like this. I tried to help inform the members here, including you, because I am a forum owner and admin (elsewhere) and felt I could ease the fears about loss of privacy and security. Then I find out you are an admin at more than one other website and are the one elevating these fears - even claiming to have access to passwords on a site you are an admin on. That can only put fear in the minds of the members of this forum. It just seems irresponsible to me.

Bottom line, in case it wasn't clear by my previous comments: a plugin working in conjunction with the forum software sends email notifications to members who use Tapatalk (it's an app for mobile device users). It is not spam and has not jeopardized your security or privacy. If it is something you do not like, then do let the forum owners and admins know of your displeasure.

Jim
 
But you DO. Even if you don't, you are a forum admin and have access to the information. I've got no problem with members asking or complaining about an issue like this. I tried to help inform the members here, including you, because I am a forum owner and admin (elsewhere) and felt I could ease the fears about loss of privacy and security. Then I find out you are an admin at more than one other website and are the one elevating these fears - even claiming to have access to passwords on a site you are an admin on. That can only put fear in the minds of the members of this forum. It just seems irresponsible to me.

Bottom line, in case it wasn't clear by my previous comments: a plugin working in conjunction with the forum software sends email notifications to members who use Tapatalk (it's an app for mobile device users). It is not spam and has not jeopardized your security or privacy. If it is something you do not like, then do let the forum owners and admins know of your displeasure.

Jim


No, actually I don't. I don't have a clue how the forum software works because I don't even know what they use. Nor am I privy to some of the settings they use, or why.

This may be simple in your world, but we don't live in your world. We live in ours. There are things in your world that are crystal clear to you and baffle the rest of us, just like there are things in my world I comprehend with complete ease that would be incomprehensible to others. Case in point..... Math quiz time!

240 * 0.75 = 208. Does that make sense to you? Did you come up with something different? Should it be 180 instead? Nope. It's 208. And I know exactly why 208 is the correct answer, and why the expression is 100% true. Sure, I could go on about vectors, sine waves, phase angles and root mean squares, but would that help the average member here understand it?

I appreciate your efforts here, and I'm not running around like Chicken Little screaming "The sky is falling!".
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I just find it odd that in the years I've been a member, not once has a (very popular!) smartphone app sent me an unsolicited email specific to one single member here.
 
I like using tapatalk when im mobile because i find it faster than the forum website on a browser on my phone, and I can view multiple forums much easier.
however, while i can see where tapatalk would want to further integrate into our forum experience, I find that sort of integration unnecessary for anything other than a further advertising money grab. I understand that there is no invasion of privacy, nor information leak...but i still personally find it intrusive to my forum experience to have tapatalk barging in when im not even on my phone.

if anyone from tapatalk is watching, I will be removing that app from my phone now and only use the forum through my browser, whether at home or on my phone.
 
480sparky said:
[ Please do not expect everyone here to be willing to educate ourselves about the thousands of different softwares used on the thousands of various sites we visit. It just is not feasible.

I received ONE notification e-mailed to my phone, about a month ago now, that a post of mine had received a "Like" here on TPF. I was like "Huh, okay. Select. Delete." BOOM! E-mail gone.

NOTHING HAS HAPPENED SINCE THAT TIME. NOTHING. Not a single additional e-mail has been sent to me on behalf of TPF. Not one. None. ZERO. Jeebus.
 
480sparky said:
[ Please do not expect everyone here to be willing to educate ourselves about the thousands of different softwares used on the thousands of various sites we visit. It just is not feasible.

I received ONE notification e-mailed to my phone, about a month ago now, that a post of mine had received a "Like" here on TPF. I was like "Huh, okay. Select. Delete." BOOM! E-mail gone.

NOTHING HAS HAPPENED SINCE THAT TIME. NOTHING. Not a single additional e-mail has been sent to me on behalf of TPF. Not one. None. ZERO. Jeebus.
I guess we all like Sparky more .... :biggrin-new:
 
480sparky said:
[ Please do not expect everyone here to be willing to educate ourselves about the thousands of different softwares used on the thousands of various sites we visit. It just is not feasible.

I received ONE notification e-mailed to my phone, about a month ago now, that a post of mine had received a "Like" here on TPF. I was like "Huh, okay. Select. Delete." BOOM! E-mail gone.

NOTHING HAS HAPPENED SINCE THAT TIME. NOTHING. Not a single additional e-mail has been sent to me on behalf of TPF. Not one. None. ZERO. Jeebus.

When I deleted the one I got, my hard drive was wiped clean, the transmission fell out of my truck, I got an audit letter from the IRS, my dog died, my roof started leaking, all my ex-girlfriends started a web site about me, I was arrested for possession of cocaine, my cat was hit by a taxi, a drunk crashed in my front yard, I was excommunicated from my church, my knee caps were shot off because I couldn't pay Carlos the Cutter back in time, I lost my crops to grasshoppers, I stepped on a garden rake and smacked the handle into my nose, a 2-ton weight fell on my garage, my toilet clogged up, I won tickets to a Justin Beiber contest and was forced to go, fell over in my yard from a heart attack and my neighbor sent the ambulance service a postcard, almost drowned starting a wave at a basketball game, I pirated one song and got sued, my doctor told me I'm allergic to bacon, my parents get a divorce and neither wants custody, I got a paper cut reading my Kindle, I contracted bubonic plague burying a dead squirrel, and after I got hit by a bus I saw a bright light........... which was another bus.


 

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