It’s pretty slick software, but I stopped using it once I realized how much it was spying on me:

https://www.balena.io/privacy-policy/

https://forums.balena.io/t/serious-privacy-concerns-with-etc... (2018, also referencing a now-fixed software bug, but still an interesting look at what types of requests it makes by default)

that's a bit ironic considering where you're posting this https://www.ycombinator.com/legal/

I’m talking about the analytics/surveillance inside the software, not just their logs of me browsing to this page. The privacy policy page kinda bundles them all together when explaining it. There’s an in-app toggle to (supposedly) disable it, and that’s fine for people like me who are in the habit of checking the settings when I try new software, but that means I can never recommend Etcher to a friend since I know 99% of them won’t bother doing that.

And this isn't analytics/surveillance?

- "We collect information about how you use our Service, such as the types of content that you view or engage with, the features you use, the actions you take, and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities"

- "Includes name of the device, operating system, and browser you are using"

- "Internet Protocol address, browser type and settings, the date and time of your request, and how you interacted with the Site"

Sure, sounds like surveillance to me. It’s pretty unavoidable if you have an HTTP server that collects logs (all of them), but I could choose not to participate here if it bothered me. What does a community forum’s privacy policy have to do with me not wanting to recommend desktop software that has surveillance silently in the background? Is it just supposed to be a “gotcha” that disqualifies me from having a nuanced opinion on the subject?

not at all, i'm simply pointing out the irony of you recommending people not use software that has telemetry on a platform that has the same telemetry. i've personally refused to use etcher for a while, sticking with dd, then i got tired of slow speeds and downloaded it, blocked all its home-ringing with LittleSnitch and haven't had a problem since. There are ways around any spying, i'm just glad it doesn't install any bloatware like 90% of the "free" apps out there.

I too love some delicious irony but personally don’t see it in this case unless I disregard all context besides “their privacy policies have some of the same words”. It feels pretty different to me to compare software analytics to a thing like HN that can’t just exist offline on my PC. I know what I’m getting when I have to make network requests to read a web page, but Etcher only uses it to phone home private info like “I’m writing Ubluntu-13.37-Heavenly-Heifer.iso to a 16GB volume named ‘KINGSTON’ with serial number <whatever>”.

> I’m writing Ubluntu-13.37-Heavenly-Heifer.iso to a 16GB volume named ‘KINGSTON’ with serial number <whatever>

Where in the code did you see this? I can't find that in their source.

I see they show a "banner" with this url: https://www.balena.io/etcher/success-banner?borderTop=false&...

show some featured apps: 'https://assets.balena.io/etcher-featured/index.html'