‘Wordle’ Fans Add ‘Tracking’ To List Of Undesirable Changes From Update

Since its acquisition by the New York Times, fans of Wordle have been adding to a growing list of complaints about the beloved game.

Apart from the game’s move to its new home temporarily ending some users’ weeks of streaks, there are new rules in place to block offensive words from gameplay. Some players have said the winning words are (mistakenly) accusing the brainteaser of being more difficult, too.

Now, the latest gripe, as per Input, is that the New York Times, which bought the game for an undisclosed sum, has attached advertising trackers to the word game.

Gizmodo discovered that a scan of the website produced dozens of cookie trackers embedded in the game’s official landing page. 

Some of the trackers could be sending users’ information to third-party firms such as Google, though most are tied back to the Times itself.

Forbes suggested making use of advertisement and tracker blockers to minimize the amount of information the trackers can glean from you. 

Users also can opt to use the Safari browser on iOS, which has in-built technology to prevent websites from accurately profiling users.

Another way to bypass the trackers would be to download the entire game of Wordle itself, instead of heading to the website each day to play. Here’s an outline of how to do so even though the game’s domain has changed.

If you’ve completely given up on Wordle since its transition, how about trying out other similar games like Nerdle—the math version—or a kid-friendly version instead? 

[via Input and Forbes, cover image via Wachiwit | Dreamstime.com]