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Ads on Apple Maps

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Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#11
post #7

And just like that, the reason to use Apple Maps is gone.

Really sad to see. The last thing I want when I'm trying to figure out how to get somewhere is a bunch of sponsored pins and results, slowing me down and giving my brain more garbage to process.

That screenshot in the link is still vastly better than Google Maps: a generic search for "restaurants" may feature a clearly marked sponsored restaurant. There's a long ways to go until they get to Google or Yelp's level. But we all know they'll get there soon enough, copying Google's "innovations" as they go.

Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#12

It used to be that they included a bunch of software to make their hardware more useful. But I guess they couldn't resist squeezing out a bit more revenue through enshittification. The profit motive is ultimately too strong. Ads on the lock screen and in the dock next?

> Ads on the lock screen and in the dock next?

Arguably already happened, via notifications. They've long allowed third-party apps to send notifications that are actually ads, and a few first-party apps (most notably wallet with the F1 movie ads last year) have started doing this too. Those made it to the lock screen, and if you happened to dock any of those apps, the obnoxious red notification dot would induce you to click on it.

Any app that did that to me lost its notification privileges permanently and got uninstalled if it wasn't a built-in app, but I suppose Apple could start directly injecting unavoidable ads too.

Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#13
post #4

heh. Could the apple maps team ever be paid a higher compliment? They really, truly, made it. I remember 15 years ago when apple maps was an absolute laughingstock that couldn't hold a candle to the big guys. But look at them now. They made it genuinely good. It'd been my only map app for years until I downloaded google maps for a road trip and was perplexed by all the squares I didn't ask for telling me about Arby's…

Good for navigation, terrible for up to date business information (opening hours) and reviews. Google maps’ reviews aren’t great - everything is a 4.3 because they incentivised users to review business interactions they didn’t care about by paying them pennies in Google pay credit - but it will at least tell me reliably if a business is closed today or has shut down.

Agree ++

Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#14
post #4

heh. Could the apple maps team ever be paid a higher compliment? They really, truly, made it. I remember 15 years ago when apple maps was an absolute laughingstock that couldn't hold a candle to the big guys. But look at them now. They made it genuinely good. It'd been my only map app for years until I downloaded google maps for a road trip and was perplexed by all the squares I didn't ask for telling me about Arby's…

Good for navigation, terrible for up to date business information (opening hours) and reviews. Google maps’ reviews aren’t great - everything is a 4.3 because they incentivised users to review business interactions they didn’t care about by paying them pennies in Google pay credit - but it will at least tell me reliably if a business is closed today or has shut down.

The network effect of Google Maps is huge. If a restaurant menu isn't officially online, someone will have posted a picture of the menu and half the dishes on it.

Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#15
post #12

It used to be that they included a bunch of software to make their hardware more useful. But I guess they couldn't resist squeezing out a bit more revenue through enshittification. The profit motive is ultimately too strong. Ads on the lock screen and in the dock next?

> Ads on the lock screen and in the dock next? Arguably already happened, via notifications. They've long allowed third-party apps to send notifications that are actually ads, and a few first-party apps (most notably wallet with the F1 movie ads last year) have started doing this too. Those made it to the lock screen, and if you happened to dock any of those apps, the obnoxious red notification dot would induce you t…

Squeezing the extra 2% of revenue through making it shit has “no downsides”

Voting with wallet doesn’t work, the power imbalance ya too large. This isn’t boycotting your local deli because they get rid of your favourite sandwich.

Eventually china’s cultural takeover will win out and we can only hope it isn’t built on the parasitical advertising industry.

Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#16
post #5

You know what I do? I have a second iphone. main iphone - mostly revolves around phone and messages. lockdown mode. no bluetooth, no wifi, no location services, privacy stuff all restricted. I also do some web browsing. I run adblock which lets you filter lots of stuff. apple id signed out. and my second iphone - offline iphone. I install it using ethernet with outside connection (usb->ethernet dongles work for iphon…

Why?

Apple "values your privacy" but has a multi-thousand-page privacy policy.

But an offline phone? no tracking, but you can still turn on location services, siri, maps (with directions).

it also doesn't need wifi or cellular, so works in the woods etc.

kindle books/audible audiobooks track each thing you do, but can't offline.

so again: makes me happy. You should be able to be left alone.

Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#17
post #4

heh. Could the apple maps team ever be paid a higher compliment? They really, truly, made it. I remember 15 years ago when apple maps was an absolute laughingstock that couldn't hold a candle to the big guys. But look at them now. They made it genuinely good. It'd been my only map app for years until I downloaded google maps for a road trip and was perplexed by all the squares I didn't ask for telling me about Arby's…

Good for navigation, terrible for up to date business information (opening hours) and reviews. Google maps’ reviews aren’t great - everything is a 4.3 because they incentivised users to review business interactions they didn’t care about by paying them pennies in Google pay credit - but it will at least tell me reliably if a business is closed today or has shut down.

Good for navigation? I use as default but never if I’m in a hurry.

Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#18
> To connect you with relevant businesses and services, we never use information like your precise location or history of interactions with Maps. Instead we focus on contextual information such as search terms, a device’s approximate location, or the area of the map on screen.

I’m not sure I understand the distinction between “precise location” and “a device’s approximate location” here. If the latter is still location data from the device, how meaningful is the privacy difference?

Re: Ads on Apple Maps

#19
From Apple's website:

"we don’t need to know a lot about you to deliver a great experience on Apple Maps." -> so you still need to know a little about me ?

"Even if you choose to sign in, Maps keeps your data in sync across all your devices using end-to-end encryption — so where you go isn’t associated with your Apple Account at all." -> looks like magic, data is synced accross all your devices but without using your apple account ...

For shop owners buying ads, they'll still need to provide statistics of view, clicks and conversions and that needs tracking. So that's not different from google. Apple claims to be the champion of privacy, that's just hypocritical. Just check the apple Advertising & Privacy page.

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