Skimlinks

[Vinyadan]

Since the first of August, when I click on a link, especially if it goes to an established commercial website (Shutterstock, Ebay, Stanfords...) I sometimes get a pop-up overlay that says (translated):

"We invest time and money in creating these contents for you. We can only do so if, after you read, we have a chance to profit from them. Forums.giantitp.com and Skimlinks and their partners use cookies to collect and use data to personalise, select, and show ads and reports. By clicking on "continue to website", you consent to the use of cookies. You can revoke your consent or receive more info about the rights related to data usage and our legitimate interests using them here.

Our partner's privacy policy.

I don't accept | Continue to website"

The overlay contains some links which I didn't report here, in case they are malicious. (if it is needed, I can send screenshots of the original to staffers by PM)

Two questions.

First, is this legit? Under normal conditions I'd think of adware on my computer, but I got it on different operating systems, browsers, machines, and connections. As I generally don't save cookies, it's possible that they are showing up far more often than they normally would. I also noticed that Rawhide once said something about Skimresources , although for unrelated reasons. Region could also have something to do with this.

Second, if this is legit, does the "WE" in the pop-up refer to giantitp? (The link at "our partner's privacy policy" sends to the Skimlinks website, which would mean that the WE doesn't refer to Skimlinks).

[Lacco]

Region could also have something to do with this.

I'd vote for regional issue. No such occurences here.

And now I'll see myself out.

[Rawhide]

As noted in the linked post, Skimlinks/skimresources re-writes outgoing URLs to make using this site less attractive to spammers, and that is the primary reason we have incorporated their service on the site. It prevents spammers from using the website to boost search engine rankings, or posting referral links to such commercial sites. It's harmless. Usage of the service is funded by rewriting those referral links. Giant in the Playground does technically earn an incredibly small percentage from those links on occasion, but the amount is in cents and so small as to be insignificant (it is not the type of website where this would make a huge impact).

[Vinyadan]

Thanks for the answer! Maybe some new law kicked in requiring explicit consent, then.