6 ms·

I may just be a super-cynical ad-tech exile, but I see this as a path to getting shown more ridiculously well-targeted ads based on the places and stores I've b

I may just be a super-cynical ad-tech exile, but I see this as a path to getting shown more ridiculously well-targeted ads based on the places and stores I've been in. Beacons haven't taken off and I'm glad they haven't. I'd really prefer a GPS in my phone with a similar granularity to the one I have now. Google's notifications that I should review places I've been are creepy enough.

haikuginger 9y ago
It's almost as though using a phone whose operating system is created and maintained by an advertising company isn't the best idea if you want to keep things like your location private.
- visarga 9y ago
  What? Shudders...
- microcolonel 9y ago
  For what it's worth, all operators have a legal obligation to gather these data (at least in the U.S. and Canada) officially for emergency services purposes.
  - skummetmaelk 9y ago
    "Emergency services"
    - jronsomers 9y ago
      Those emergency services are very convenient when it comes to flood warnings, tornado warnings, and even amber alerts. I am personally very glad to have them.
- tomlock 9y ago
  Apple is also an advertising company - they have unique IDs with your personal information pinned to them, and they sell ads based on your location, too.
  - mikeyouse 9y ago
    You can change your advertising ID any time you want -- and almost none of their revenue comes from ad sales. In 2016, $190B of their $215B in sales was definitively not from ad sales, and the $25B services category that would include ad sales also includes the percentage of sales from the App Store, Apple Pay, Apple Care, iCloud.. etc. Ad sales are immaterial to their business model.
    - tomlock 9y ago
      Apple makes revenue from ad sales - Apple is therefore also an advertising company. They're the lesser of two evils. Still an evil, though.
      - mikeyouse 9y ago
        > Apple makes revenue from ad sales Is that even true? They pulled the plug on mobile ad sales a year or two ago (http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/01/18/after-abandoning-iad-revenue-apple-can-reintroduce-an-ad-free-internet- http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/01/18/after-abandoning-i...), where else would they make advertising revenue? And in any case, a company who makes 99.9% of their revenue off of non-ad sales is definitely would never be categorized as an advertising company. My grocery store is paid to put crest at eye-level, that doesn't make them an advertising company...
        tomlock 9y ago
        You're right, I wouldn't say your grocery store is an advertising company because they put Crest at eye level - I'd say they're an advertising company because they likely sell your loyalty card data to 3rd parties for $$$. Adtech is eating everyone's data. IDFA is still going strong on Apple phones and is likely to continue into iOS 11.
- izacus 9y ago
  iBeacons, which push ads on you when you enter a store, were invented by Apple tho. Do we really need these OS tribalism posts in every topic?
jtolmar 9y ago
The toggle for that notification is in the Maps app under Hamburger > Settings > Notifications > Your Contributions. (If you think that's buried, you should see the developer menu.) The difference between 5m accuracy and 30cm accuracy isn't terribly important if you're just trying to tell what building someone is in, and it won't improve in-building accuracy. I can't think of anything sketchy that it enables that someone couldn't do already.
nafey 9y ago
All the more reason for people to switch from Android to Apple ecosystem.
- tomlock 9y ago
  Apple has location-based ad targeting on by default, too. https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT205223 https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT205223
gnicholas 9y ago
There's already much finer granularity in stores, thanks to wifi-based tracking (even if you don't join the network [1]), so this ship has sailed. Refining GPS accuracy only modestly improves the ability to track what stores you are near. Wifi-assisted GPS tracking that exists today probably tells advertisers everything they need to know already. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/attention-shopper-stores-are-tracking-your-cell.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/attention-shopper...

haikuginger 9y ago

It's almost as though using a phone whose operating system is created and maintained by an advertising company isn't the best idea if you want to keep things like your location private.

visarga 9y ago
What? Shudders...
microcolonel 9y ago
For what it's worth, all operators have a legal obligation to gather these data (at least in the U.S. and Canada) officially for emergency services purposes.
- skummetmaelk 9y ago
  "Emergency services"
  - jronsomers 9y ago
    Those emergency services are very convenient when it comes to flood warnings, tornado warnings, and even amber alerts. I am personally very glad to have them.
tomlock 9y ago
Apple is also an advertising company - they have unique IDs with your personal information pinned to them, and they sell ads based on your location, too.
- mikeyouse 9y ago
  You can change your advertising ID any time you want -- and almost none of their revenue comes from ad sales. In 2016, $190B of their $215B in sales was definitively not from ad sales, and the $25B services category that would include ad sales also includes the percentage of sales from the App Store, Apple Pay, Apple Care, iCloud.. etc. Ad sales are immaterial to their business model.
  - tomlock 9y ago
    Apple makes revenue from ad sales - Apple is therefore also an advertising company. They're the lesser of two evils. Still an evil, though.
    - mikeyouse 9y ago
      > Apple makes revenue from ad sales Is that even true? They pulled the plug on mobile ad sales a year or two ago (http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/01/18/after-abandoning-iad-revenue-apple-can-reintroduce-an-ad-free-internet- http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/01/18/after-abandoning-i...), where else would they make advertising revenue? And in any case, a company who makes 99.9% of their revenue off of non-ad sales is definitely would never be categorized as an advertising company. My grocery store is paid to put crest at eye-level, that doesn't make them an advertising company...
      - tomlock 9y ago
        You're right, I wouldn't say your grocery store is an advertising company because they put Crest at eye level - I'd say they're an advertising company because they likely sell your loyalty card data to 3rd parties for $$$. Adtech is eating everyone's data. IDFA is still going strong on Apple phones and is likely to continue into iOS 11.
izacus 9y ago
iBeacons, which push ads on you when you enter a store, were invented by Apple tho. Do we really need these OS tribalism posts in every topic?

jtolmar 9y ago

The toggle for that notification is in the Maps app under Hamburger > Settings > Notifications > Your Contributions. (If you think that's buried, you should see the developer menu.) The difference between 5m accuracy and 30cm accuracy isn't terribly important if you're just trying to tell what building someone is in, and it won't improve in-building accuracy. I can't think of anything sketchy that it enables that someone couldn't do already.

nafey 9y ago

All the more reason for people to switch from Android to Apple ecosystem.

tomlock 9y ago
Apple has location-based ad targeting on by default, too. https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT205223 https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT205223

gnicholas 9y ago

There's already much finer granularity in stores, thanks to wifi-based tracking (even if you don't join the network [1]), so this ship has sailed. Refining GPS accuracy only modestly improves the ability to track what stores you are near. Wifi-assisted GPS tracking that exists today probably tells advertisers everything they need to know already. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/attention-shopper-stores-are-tracking-your-cell.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/attention-shopper...