Announcing The WatchtowerHelper Chrome extension

by wtwrhelpclub 11 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  wtwrhelpclub

  A new free Chrome extension opens up Watchtower study articles on jw.org to global discussion!

  The extension lets you highlight, comment, and add footnotes. You can also view other's highlights and posts, all without leaving jw.org! You can also discuss other's posts, though that feature takes you outside of jw.org to a forum site.

  It's Sunday morning, and you didn't have time to study the Watchtower?! Don't panic; with the extension you can selectively printout the highlights and comments from the global online community! You may even glean new perspectives, from the non-local comments, to share with your congregation.

  Non-JWs are also welcome to add their comments, so long as they keep it civil. This opens the possibility of genuine discussion between JWs and their former bros. and sisters, without the need of straying outside the comfort-zone of jw.org. It can also help prepare us for objections we might encounter out in service.

  On the Chrome store there is a video tutorial for the WatchtowerHelper extension that goes into the details:

  https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/watchtowerhelper/egdnbfmdageehgajplfgipeofpmfkkgp
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  neat blue dog

  Good tool! As an active JW myself, I encourage others to use it 👍
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  Rocketman123

  I wouldn't encourage any interaction with JWorg. not unless you enjoy single minded lies and corruption by men who are self avowed to be that way for their own sake.

  In case it hasn't be accepted yet this is dangerous killing religious cult that's built up through lies, ignorance and fear.
  
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  Simon

  WatchtowerHelper collects the following:
  Personally identifiable information
  For example: name, address, email address, age or identification number

  Why? For what purpose?

  I'd be wary of someone showing up wanting me to install a Chrome extension that can see everything I browse ... but that's just me, suspicious.
• 

  Bobcat

  Is this something put out by the WT to surreptitiously gather info on apostates? Or is it the reverse, something put out to expose the unsuspecting R&F to opposing ideas?

  After looking at the description of it I'm left wondering. On the surface it seems very un-WT to open up discussion like this. Or have they become so desperate due to opposing views that they would resort to this?

  I'm leary and curious at the same time.
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  wtwrhelpclub

  @Simon: That is a generic statement of Google's. The extension does NOT collect name, address, or age. Nor can it see everything you browse.
  

  Google passes the extension an arbitrary number associated with your Google account (NOT your Google user-ID or name.) It also passes the email address you gave when you created your Google account.

  As explained in the tutorial, the extension uses this information to identify the posts you create (which it then allows you to edit), and it uses the email-address to notify you if someone flags one of your posts. The author of the extension has signed an agreement with Google not to use this information for any other purpose.

  The use of the Google account & email address was done so that posters could remain anonymous and not feel intimidated at having to register with the extension. It was done both for user convenience and to maintain anonymity, so that people would feel free to post comments without worrying that somehow their congregation could ever associate them with their comments. Ironically, it's a decision that is keeping you from using it.

  Personally, when I'm given the choice to register for something with my Google ID, I opt for that, rather than having to go through another registration process and dream up yet another password that will need remembering.

  But, if it's proving to be a stumbling block, it could be removed. Then there would need to be a registration process, including a valid email-address (which ends up with the same info as is now collected from Google: an arbitrary user-number and email-address). The advantage is that the scary Google warning would disappear.
  
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  Anony Mous

  This is just an advert for a spam site. There is literally nothing but spam links on the forum (which you don’t need an extension for).

  Do note that Chrome extensions by definition have full control over your browser. Everything you type, everything you visit can be tracked and abused.
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  Phizzy

  " I'd be wary of someone showing up wanting me to install a Chrome extension that can see everything I browse ... but that's just me, suspicious."

  And RIGHTLY so !
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  wtwrhelpclub

  @Anony Mous: It is not a "spam site." The forum gets inundated by spammers posting their garbage. This is a problem for any forum. The spam has all been deleted, but by the time you read this there will probably be new spam. It would be a full-time job to keep up with it.

  But I'll tell you why the spam on the forum is irrelevant.

  The forum is only used to store comments on posts made "on" jw.org. The posts that people comment on will have a "Discuss" button which will link directly to a specific post in the forum. A person can read this discussion on the forum, and then return to jw.org without ever having to see any of the spam.

  The forum itself is a minor part of the extension. The main thrust is the ability to have an open discussion of the Watchtower from within the Watchtower.
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  wtwrhelpclub

  I've been racking my brain trying to find a way to ensure that a Chrome extension isn't tracking web-history. It turns out there's no generic way to do this.

  However, it looks like an individual extension can be examined to see if it could be tracking.

  Once the extension has been installed, click on the three-dots on the top right of the Chrome browser, then select More Tools / Extensions. Find the extension (e.g. WatchtowerHelper) and click on the Details button.

  Scroll down to the Permissions section:

  

  Here you can see that the only permission granted by Chrome to the extension is "Know your email address." Significantly, it does not give the "web history" permission.

  Also, under "Site Access" it shows that the only sites the extension works on are its own watchtowerhelp.club and variations of jw.org. Not being active on other sites, it cannot track them.

  Finally, under "Inspect Views," if you click on the link for background page, you can see the actual code of the interface between the extension and Chrome. (Click on Sources, then background.js.) If you have any familiarity with JavaScript you will see that the email-address and the arbitrary numeric Google ID are the only things that are passed to the extension. The pertinent code being:

  chrome.identity.getProfileUserInfo(function(info) {
  sendResponse( {email: info.email, id: info.id});

  Of course this is a lot to expect any user to go through to verify that an extension is not tracking them. Unfortunately, it's the only way I've found. But I feel that this extension -- which potentially opens the lines of communication -- is worthwhile enough to justify the effort.

  Yes, a Chrome extension can potentially track your website history, and you are wise to be cautious. But, no, this extension does not.