Detracktor

A privacy-focused Android application that removes tracking parameters from URLs to protect user privacy and clean up shared links.

Overview

Detracktor automatically detects URLs in your clipboard and removes common tracking parameters like UTM codes, Facebook click IDs, Google Analytics parameters, and other privacy-invasive tracking tokens with a single touch. The app provides a clean, intuitive interface for URL cleaning with customizable rules and warning systems.

Features

• Simple and fast
• Multiple trigger methods:
  • Share to Detracktor from any app to get a trackers-cleaned shareable link back.
  • Launch Detracktor to investigate the URL in your clipboard manually.
• Configurable cleaning rules
• Configurable warning rules

Configuration

Default Rules

The app comes with pre-configured rules for common tracking parameters:

• UTM parameters (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, etc.)
• Social media tracking (fbclid, gclid, msclkid)
• Analytics tokens (_ga, _gl, mc_*)
• Campaign parameters (campaign_*, source, medium)
• Site-specific rules for popular social media apps

Custom Rules

Users can add custom rules through the settings interface:

• Domain-specific patterns
• Parameter name matching with wildcards
• Subdomain handling options
• Warning configuration

Testing

Comprehensive test suite with unit and integration tests:

• Unit Tests - Core logic testing with Robolectric
• Integration Tests - End-to-end testing on real devices
• UI Tests - Compose UI testing framework

Development

Version Management

This project uses automated version synchronization between git tags and Android app versions:

# Set up git hooks (one-time setup for contributors)
./scripts/setup-hooks.sh

# Update version for new release
./scripts/sync-version.sh v1.2.3 # or v1.2.3-pre.release for pre-release versions

# Commit and tag
git add . && git commit -m "chore: bump version to 1.2.3"
git tag v1.2.3
git push origin main --tags

The pre-push hook automatically validates that git tags match the Android app version declared in version.properties.

Privacy and Security

Data Handling

• No Network Access - All processing happens locally on device
• No Data Collection - No analytics, telemetry, or user data collection
• Clipboard Privacy - URLs are processed locally and never transmitted

Privacy-Aware UI

• Minimal Display - URL parameter values are hidden by default, including any embedded credentials. Only known tracking parameters are fully visible to maintain privacy while allowing users to identify trackers.

Warning System

• Embedded Credentials - Warns about URLs containing usernames/passwords
• Sensitive Parameters - Identifies potentially sensitive query parameters
• Configurable Alerts - Users can customize warning behavior

Acknowledgments

Inspired by and named in homage to the macOS Detracktor macro by Raymond Velasquez. This Android implementation brings similar functionality to mobile devices.

Special thanks to the privacy-focused developer community working to make the web cleaner and more private. Stay sovereign!

Legal Notice

Detracktor is an independent open-source project for URL cleaning/tracking parameter removal.

Not affiliated with:

• Detrack® (logistics tracking software by Detrack Systems Pte. Ltd.)
• Any commercial tracking, logistics, or delivery management services
• Any signal blocking or faraday cage products

This software serves a completely different function (URL sanitization) for a different market (privacy-focused individuals) than any existing trademarks, to the best of the author's knowledge, at the time of creation.