3 ms·

What exactly is the benefit to the average user of not having apps track them? Most people seem to welcome more relevant advertisments, and a significant numbe

What exactly is the benefit to the average user of not having apps track them? Most people seem to welcome more relevant advertisments, and a significant number of people in my social circle - even in Ukraine - like to purchase products directly from Instagram advertisments. If you can't make money from advertising, and paid apps have an enormous 15-30% commission, how exactly does anyone except Apple make money from mobile apps?

the_snooze 5y ago
I think you're framing it the wrong way. You should be asking: What's the benefit to the user (and advertisers too!) of all this tracking and data collection? Adtech often touts "relevant ads." But I think that's a red herring. I'm a fan of The Simpsons. That doesn't mean I want ads for Simpsons stuff following me from site to site. I'd probably get annoyed if I get Simpsons ads on a serious financial website. What's more important is that the ads are relevant to the context of the site they're displayed in. And that requires no tracking or personalization. It does, however, require human understanding and communication skills, not tech or data. People like ads if they're well-crafted and convey a compelling message in context.
- sciprojguy 5y ago
  Not really. Well-crafted ads that convey a compelling message in context are fine the first time or two that you see them. Even the best ones get really irritating when they're played over and over and over, at which point they motivate me to ignore them.
- f6v 5y ago
  It’s a false dichotomy for me. I understand many people make money off it, but I just don’t want to see any ads. And I believe if a person needs something, they should be able to find it. But buying stuff because you see a banner? If the banner was the only reason you bought an item, maybe you didn’t need it in the first place.
  - the_snooze 5y ago
    You might have too narrow a conception of what advertising tries to do. It doesn't necessarily try to induce demand. Instead, it tries to direct demand towards a certain direction. Everyone knows what Coca-Cola is. But Coke still heavily advertises worldwide. It's not to make people thirsty when they see the ad. It's to make thirsty people think "Huh, a Coke would be quite nice right now" when they're at the store.
    - f6v 5y ago
      TV ads, billboards - yes. But internet ads are very different.
- stale2002 5y ago
  Obviously the benefit of better ads, is that making an app is not free, and highly profitable ad models allows companies to not charge for apps. If these ads business models become significantly less profitable, then it becomes more difficult to provide free apps to everyone.
criddell 5y ago
Would you put up with somebody following you around all day, noting the things you do and places you go in order to serve you more relevant ads? > If you can't make money from advertising You charge for the app. If the value your users put on your app is $0, then shut it down and try again. It's like any other business.
nonameiguess 5y ago
You make money because your app is tied to a real-world useful product. Looking at my own usage, the only apps I have installed and use on any regular basis that didn't come preinstalled with iOS are Signal, Authy, Bitwarden, Amazon, and my banking app. Amazon and the bank provide me a service I can access other ways and mobile is just one of those ways. Signal is a non-profit and receives donations and Authy is owned by Twilio, which sells backend services to other software developers. I just pay Bitwarden. Of these, Amazon also serves ads. Opening the app, three items on the home page are marked sponsored. One for some k-cup coffee pod product, one for dog food, and one for cat food. These are clearly targeted (I have bought cat food and coffee very recently from Amazon and Whole Foods). But to be perfectly honest, I'm fairly comfortable with a company I buy stuff from keeping a record and making suggestions based on it through their own storefront. That's just good customer relations. I'm not comfortable with my activity being tracked everywhere across all applications I ever interact with to create a grand unified profile of all my synthesized purchasing, viewing, reading, and searching habits that can be sold to all advertisers advertising anywhere. That's a panopticon.

the_snooze 5y ago

I think you're framing it the wrong way. You should be asking: What's the benefit to the user (and advertisers too!) of all this tracking and data collection? Adtech often touts "relevant ads." But I think that's a red herring. I'm a fan of The Simpsons. That doesn't mean I want ads for Simpsons stuff following me from site to site. I'd probably get annoyed if I get Simpsons ads on a serious financial website. What's more important is that the ads are relevant to the context of the site they're displayed in. And that requires no tracking or personalization. It does, however, require human understanding and communication skills, not tech or data. People like ads if they're well-crafted and convey a compelling message in context.

sciprojguy 5y ago
Not really. Well-crafted ads that convey a compelling message in context are fine the first time or two that you see them. Even the best ones get really irritating when they're played over and over and over, at which point they motivate me to ignore them.
f6v 5y ago
It’s a false dichotomy for me. I understand many people make money off it, but I just don’t want to see any ads. And I believe if a person needs something, they should be able to find it. But buying stuff because you see a banner? If the banner was the only reason you bought an item, maybe you didn’t need it in the first place.
- the_snooze 5y ago
  You might have too narrow a conception of what advertising tries to do. It doesn't necessarily try to induce demand. Instead, it tries to direct demand towards a certain direction. Everyone knows what Coca-Cola is. But Coke still heavily advertises worldwide. It's not to make people thirsty when they see the ad. It's to make thirsty people think "Huh, a Coke would be quite nice right now" when they're at the store.
  - f6v 5y ago
    TV ads, billboards - yes. But internet ads are very different.
stale2002 5y ago
Obviously the benefit of better ads, is that making an app is not free, and highly profitable ad models allows companies to not charge for apps. If these ads business models become significantly less profitable, then it becomes more difficult to provide free apps to everyone.

criddell 5y ago

Would you put up with somebody following you around all day, noting the things you do and places you go in order to serve you more relevant ads? > If you can't make money from advertising You charge for the app. If the value your users put on your app is $0, then shut it down and try again. It's like any other business.

nonameiguess 5y ago

You make money because your app is tied to a real-world useful product. Looking at my own usage, the only apps I have installed and use on any regular basis that didn't come preinstalled with iOS are Signal, Authy, Bitwarden, Amazon, and my banking app. Amazon and the bank provide me a service I can access other ways and mobile is just one of those ways. Signal is a non-profit and receives donations and Authy is owned by Twilio, which sells backend services to other software developers. I just pay Bitwarden. Of these, Amazon also serves ads. Opening the app, three items on the home page are marked sponsored. One for some k-cup coffee pod product, one for dog food, and one for cat food. These are clearly targeted (I have bought cat food and coffee very recently from Amazon and Whole Foods). But to be perfectly honest, I'm fairly comfortable with a company I buy stuff from keeping a record and making suggestions based on it through their own storefront. That's just good customer relations. I'm not comfortable with my activity being tracked everywhere across all applications I ever interact with to create a grand unified profile of all my synthesized purchasing, viewing, reading, and searching habits that can be sold to all advertisers advertising anywhere. That's a panopticon.