Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because the issue isn't where the data is stored, the issue is what the data is used for. In this case, it would be used in a way that still reveals personal information about me -- for instance, in a FLoC-type setup, it's still being revealed which cohorts I'm a part of. Having the data stored locally is certainly better than having it stored in someone else's database. No argument there, that's an improvement. But…
So is the argument that personalized ads are inherently bad? Arguments against tracking/personalization I have heard in the past, which make sense to me, are that having all the data stored remotely gives a lot of power to an evil engineer or government to exploit your data. With a 100% local approach, based on data that is stored anyway, that aspect would go away. I don't see how in that world personalized ads are w…
No, the argument is that collecting data about me or my machines without my informed consent is bad. The purpose to which that data is put doesn't even come into play.
> With a 100% local approach, based on data that is stored anyway, that aspect would go away.
No, it doesn't. The exposure is certainly reduced, but companies can still determine quite a lot about you by combining the "cohorts" you're a part of with other data.
>I think I would prefer personalized.
I understand that. Personally, whether an ad is "personalized" or not doesn't increase or decrease the ad's utility to me, so I don't care about that directly (with one exception -- personalized ads deprive me of useful information about the site/app/whatever that I'm using: I no longer have clues as to what the target demographic of the site/app/whatever is.)
What I care about is stopping the incessant assault by the marketing companies in terms of spying.