Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's there for me on iOS 13.7: https://imgur.com/gJyId5P It was on by default - I toggled it off.
It is off by default.
It's not off by default. I just reset an iPhone to check on 13.7. It's on by default.
Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
171–180 of 249 posts
Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#172One thing that removes a lot of credibility from Apple's "for the good of the user" communication on this is that they broke out the personalization for their own ad network as an option, put it in a different location, and made it opt-out instead of opt-in. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/08/07/apple-a...
The biggest misconception is how and why ad IDs are used, what precisely the value of ad targeting is, how it impacts the user, the ad buyer, etc. People don't really seem to know anything about this stuff. If you spent even 1 minute articulating a falsifiable hypothesis about the impact of something like IDFA, you would have a much more interesting conversation that the typical Apple versus the world way this goes on HN.
Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#173I cringe reading the deluded opinions from people in this thread that clearly do not understand the impact on the app ecosystem, let alone how ad tech works. I'd liken it to reading a post on mumsnet.com with 100+ middle aged women arguing about 5g.
> people in this thread that clearly do not understand the impact on the app ecosystem
The entitlement of ad tech is unbelievable.
> I'd liken it to reading a post on mumsnet.com with 100+ middle aged women arguing
Yeah, women, amirite?
Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There is a whole industry that depends on tracking IDFA to function And hopefully that will become "was" at some point. > it is not about being creepy The ad industry is a poor judge of what's creepy; their interests are not aligned with user interests. > A 3 month period will allow all actors in the advertising industry to integrate and come up with solutions that protect the user's privacy. The advertising indust…
> hopefully that will become "was" at some point > their interests are not aligned with user interests How do you propose apps monetize going forward? The vast majority of users do not want to pay for the apps/utilities on their phones, but still appreciate the value these apps provide them nonetheless. Targeted advertising enables apps to provide these services to users for free by having marketing budgets front the…
> The vast majority of users do not want to pay for the apps/utilities on their phones, but still appreciate the value these apps provide them nonetheless.
Chicken and egg problem. There are enough free apps that they drag down user expectations for pricing. It's hard to figure out value on an absolute scale ("hmmm, is this worth $4?"), and easy to compare value on a relative scale ("wow, $8 seems expensive for an app"). Ads push the app market downwards.
> I'm curious what revenue model you would suggest for apps that wish to remain free
The same revenue model I'd suggest for any other kind of regularly produced content that can't charge or doesn't want to: patronage, subscriptions, sponsorships, merch, add-ons or regular updates that people want to pay for, services people want to pay for. Have you ever read some of the behind-the-scenes details from YouTube channels that support the people making them? Ads don't even come close to paying the bills, even if you're huge. Patronage, subscriptions, sponsorships, and merchandise do.
Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well Facebook was the biggest name complaining in the media that this would seriously hurt their ad revenue. I also wonder why, because their apps already require a user to sign in. It must reference to cross-app tracking, I'm also surprised they were so dependent on that.
Facebook didn’t complain... they said they would shut off FAN which generated a whole of $2B in revenue for them in 2018 when they make $80B this year. They were telling their customers to find an alternative monetization strategy since this wasn’t going to be worth it for them.
I'm not the only one viewing that as a complaint:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/09/facebook-complains-a...
Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
This site, for one, is funded by job ads. No one forces you to use it, or any other "toxic" site that makes you feel "ugly and worthless". If you think the entire web (or the entire ad funded web) is toxic and makes you feel "ugly and worthless" what are you doing here?
Do you think Apple's changes will affect HN's ad business?
No. The discussion is about ads in general.
Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#177Apple's blog post about their plans: "We are committed to ensuring users can choose whether or not they allow an app to track them. To give developers time to make necessary changes, apps will be required to obtain permission to track users starting early next year. More information, including an update to the App Store Review Guidelines, will follow this fall." https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=hx9s63c5
This reads as just another popup you'll need to click before you can use any app. Just like cookies.
You can turn off being asked in settings in which case it will just look like you asked not to be tracked to every app.
Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#178Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
The pop-up is literally “allow tracking” and “disallow tracking” and disallowing does not give the advertisers any kind of information about cross-app usage. It is not something you can as a developer circumvent.
There are hundreds of ways to fingerprint you and your device, without an avertising ID. You just need a few (5-7?) To uniquely identify someone. A few examples that come to my mind: Current battery level, typing speed, phone model, OS version, battery wear (guessable from charge/discharge rate), charge rate (depends on the charger), finger width, propensy to use features differently (scrolling, zooming, selecting te…
What you've said is accurate, but one thing that's different in this case compared to the web is Apple's walled garden.
The walled garden certainly has problems but in this case a real benefit is that Apple forbids these kinds of technical workarounds. You can implement them, but do you want to run the risk of your app being banned from the only distribution channel on iOS because of it?
Re: Apple to delay privacy change threatening Facebook, mobile ad market
#180I cringe reading the deluded opinions from people in this thread that clearly do not understand the impact on the app ecosystem, let alone how ad tech works. I'd liken it to reading a post on mumsnet.com with 100+ middle aged women arguing about 5g.
I don't think people in the thread don't understand as much as they don't care about ad tech and the ecosystem. As technologist we understand the invasive and creepy nature of ad tech and would like to see it gone, sure there'll be lots of second order effects but personally I am just tired of ads and ad tech.
The "Do No Track" header is the perfect example, largely abandonded because when ad companies realised how many people would set it they just ignored it altogether. Thankfully with Apple's changes they, as the gatekeeps of the walled garden, can ban apps that don't respect the user's "don't track me" signal.
The ad industry has had an abundance of chances to fix these issues, but haven't. As a user I welcome Apple forcing their hand even if the business models of many apps will be broken as a result.
It's a cleansing by fire if you will.