Telemetry settings

Outbound recognises the telemetry endpoints of many apps and services from a database that ships with it. The Telemetry page turns that knowledge into block rules: one switch for everything, categories to narrow it, and a per-app switch. See Trackers and telemetry.

The controls are disabled while this session’s settings lock is on, with the apps filter field left working. When an organization forces the categories with the TelemetryBlockCategories preference, the switches are disabled and a label reads “Managed by your organisation”. See Managed preferences.

Block known telemetry

Block known telemetry: off by default. A line under the switch says what the current categories would block. With the switch on it reads “Blocks N known telemetry endpoint(s) from M company(ies).” With the switch off it reads “Turn on to block “ and the same counts. One endpoint and one company use the singular words.

Turning it on creates one rule group of block rules for the endpoints in the categories you chose, and keeps it current as the database changes.

What to block

Seven categories. Each is on by default, including while the main switch is still off:

• Analytics: “Counts which features you use and how you move through an app.”
• Crash reporting: “Sends error and crash reports to the developer’s service.”
• Logging: “Sends an app’s activity logs to a logging service.”
• Feature flags: “Reports which experiments and feature flags an app showed you.”
• Advertising: “Ad networks and the services that measure ads.”
• Attribution: “Measures which ad or link led to an install or sign-up.”
• Session replay: “Records taps, scrolls and screens so a developer can replay a visit.”

Example data.

Three more categories exist in the database and are never offered here, and are ignored if a managed preference names them: Diagnostics (“Reports on how an app or the system is running, so its maker can find problems.”), Essential (“Services apps need to work, such as sign-in, updates and package downloads. Outbound never blocks them.”) and Unknown.

Apps with telemetry turned off

The section is titled “Apps with telemetry turned off”. One row per app whose telemetry you blocked on its own, independent of the main switch. An empty list says “None”. A “Filter apps” field is decided when the page appears, and again when the list goes from empty to non-empty. It shows when there are more than eight apps then, and it stays while you are typing in it. It matches the name the row shows or the signing ID, so “zoom” finds us.zoom.xos. A query that matches nothing says “No app matches “query”.” Remove takes an app off the list. On success it says that app’s name, then “’s telemetry is no longer blocked.” Remove is disabled while the settings lock is on. The filter is not.

What the database cannot do

A short paragraph under the sections states the limit: “Outbound recognises N telemetry endpoints from M companies. Some apps send data through their own domains, which no list can recognise, so this cannot promise that all telemetry is off.” The coverage line always says “companies”, whatever the count.

Never blocked is a disclosure: “Outbound never blocks model APIs, sign-in, updates or package registries, because blocking them would stop the app or tool from working. Apple’s own diagnostics are labelled but not blocked. To turn them off, use System Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements.”

The page footer names the data behind all this: “Telemetry database version N”, or “No telemetry database is loaded.” if none is loaded.

Turn off telemetry (the per-app sheet)

Telemetry… in the Network Monitor, in the inspector, and in the Tracker Database opens a sheet for that app. The heavy-telemetry notification’s Show button, and a tap on that notification, open the same sheet. See Network Monitor and Trackers.

The sheet is titled with the app’s name and the subtitle “Turn off telemetry”, and it has a Done button. Inside:

• Seen in Activity: the telemetry companies Outbound saw the app talk to, or “No telemetry companies seen yet.” Each company that is in the database has a Show in Tracker Database button. Its help is “What NAME is, its servers and what blocking them does”.
• Turn it off in NAME: shown when the app’s maker documents a switch. Each line has its kind (“Environment variable”, “Config file”, “Command”, “macOS defaults” or “In the app”), a copyable line or a file location, and a Copy button where there is a line to copy. A config line is shown in the file’s own syntax, so a JSON snippet pastes into a JSON file as written. Maker’s documentation appears when the maker published an https page for that switch.
• One section per tool the app hosts. A generic runtime is headed “Tools running in APP: TOOL”. Any other tool is headed with the tool’s name. A tool with no documented switch says “TOOL’s maker does not document a switch.”
• When neither the app nor any tool documents a switch: “This app’s maker does not document a switch for its telemetry.”

Block This App’s Telemetry: “Outbound blocks the telemetry servers it knows for this app.” The switch is offered when Outbound can match the app and it already has a block, or it has the app’s team ID or path, so a block can be turned off without a team or a path and cannot be added without one. Otherwise, when a block is possible: “Open APP from Activity to block its telemetry, so Outbound can match the app’s signature.”

For a generic runtime such as node, where many different programs run, Outbound does not offer a block on the runtime itself: “Outbound does not block APP itself, because many different programs run inside it.” When that runtime lists tools, the sentence continues “ Use each tool’s own switch above.”