- From: Marcos Caceres <caceres_m@apple.com>
- Date: Thu, 30 May 2024 00:02:43 +1000
- To: public-review-comments@w3.org
- Message-id: <50002708-8F68-4370-AE42-7518412F713E@apple.com>
I raise a formal objection on the Vibration API’s issue [#33]. Rationale: The W3C Vibration API is falsely claiming to be implemented by Firefox, as indicated in the implementation report. In reality, Firefox no longer supports the API in that it doesn't actually vibrate. Furthermore, the specification hasn't received interest from any other implementer in years. Additional reasons for obsoleting the Vibration API include: - **Privacy Concerns**: The Vibration API can potentially be used in conjunction with other APIs to track or fingerprint devices. For instance, by generating specific vibration patterns and monitoring the timing and response of those vibrations through sensors or other feedback mechanisms, malicious actors could create a unique identifier for a device. This risk is heightened when combined with other data points, leading to more accurate device or user tracking. The specification itself already acknowledges these privacy concerns, but they remain unresolved in practice. - **User Experience**: Haptic feedback from vibration can be perceived as intrusive and annoying by users, which is why some browsers have disabled or limited its use. - **Technological Redundancy**: Modern devices and platforms offer more advanced and flexible haptic feedback mechanisms that are not reliant on the web's Vibration API (e.g., Gamepad API). [#33] https://github.com/w3c/vibration/issues/33
Received on Wednesday, 29 May 2024 14:03:04 UTC