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Why would you enable it? What possible benefit is there in doing so? The ads won't get better regardless of the data they have on you. They aren't exactly usin

by kwdc 5y ago

Why would you enable it? What possible benefit is there in doing so? The ads won't get better regardless of the data they have on you. They aren't exactly using ML or AI to help you get better ads. Its really just boring data queries in SQL or some graph language. That's the sum total of most advertising intelligence. Its not 21st century high tech. Its mostly relational databases with some NoSQL to make that table linking faster and cached. In cases where they do actually bring out that NoSQL it is to reimplement all the relational smarts just with extra steps. Then its at least shiny and cool. The whole thing is really just about storing and gathering a profile on you as part of them building an asset they can later resell. Creepy technology for creepy uses. An asset full of subtle errors about you that can likely never be seen or fixed. Much later they will invariably then leave all or some of it on a usb stick or some poorly protected cloud server. After that your details will end up in the hands of some scammer or other miscreant to enable them to send you endless emails full of typos, lies, emojis and if you're exceptionally average like the rest of us: an interesting tale about long lost nigerian princes just needing a bank account. If you're lucky. So, yeah, leave it disabled. There's really no point in doing otherwise.

quenix 5y ago
Disclaimer: I did not opt in to tracking. However... I'm not sure how the discussion about the technology behind ad targeting is relevant to the end user. The point is that it -works- and that the ads shown to the user are indeed more likely to pique their interests. As an end user, I don't -care- whether the backend is using AI/ML or a relational database—I care that by enabling tracking, I get more relevant ads.
- fpgaminer 5y ago
  > the ads shown to the user are indeed more likely to pique their interests They're more likely to convert the targeted user. That's not the same thing.
kevinventullo 5y ago
> They aren't exactly using ML or AI to help you get better ads. They most certainly are, and this is not a secret.
- mvkel 5y ago
  To what end? While there is complexity, diversity, and numbers on the end-user side, there aren’t enough advertisers to warrant such hair splitting data crunching. There are only so many jogging pant brands out there.
  - kevinventullo 5y ago
    A billion users, a million advertisers? Nah, we can do it with a key-value lookup table.
  - Breza 5y ago
    I used to write ad targeting algorithms. There are tons of adtech companies that claim to use AI to "find the right audience" for a given client's ads. Some of them actually do it. I only had one project at that job that was complicated enough to justify using a neural network. The VAST majority of targeting really is just a SQL lookup.
NotPractical 5y ago
"Better ads" is just one of the three reasons the Facebook app provides for enabling tracking before asking users to do so: 1. Show you ads that are more personalized 2. Help keep Facebook free of charge 3. Support businesses that rely on ads to reach their customers Source: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69222710/SpeakingUp_SmBiz_1.5.png https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69222710/... While "better ads" could be construed as a benefit for users, the other two reasons seem like an attempt to scare/guilt the user into enabling tracking. Of course, it's just a bunch of bullshit they had the marketing department come up with so they could continue to profit from tracking at least a small percentage of iOS users. Businesses don't need to rely on Facebook's invasive tracking to sell products. Don't let Facebook guilt you into giving up your personal data.
dbbk 5y ago
I opted in, because if I'm going to see ads, I would prefer they be somewhat relevant to me. And I want to support the sites/apps I use for free.
- badRNG 5y ago
  That's great for the 4% who want this. However, it might be a bit more user friendly to default to the no tracking option (due to the overwhelming support for that option,) and allow users who want tracking turned on to manually enable it in the settings.

by kwdc 5y ago

quenix 5y ago

Disclaimer: I did not opt in to tracking. However... I'm not sure how the discussion about the technology behind ad targeting is relevant to the end user. The point is that it -works- and that the ads shown to the user are indeed more likely to pique their interests. As an end user, I don't -care- whether the backend is using AI/ML or a relational database—I care that by enabling tracking, I get more relevant ads.

fpgaminer 5y ago
> the ads shown to the user are indeed more likely to pique their interests They're more likely to convert the targeted user. That's not the same thing.

kevinventullo 5y ago

> They aren't exactly using ML or AI to help you get better ads. They most certainly are, and this is not a secret.

mvkel 5y ago
To what end? While there is complexity, diversity, and numbers on the end-user side, there aren’t enough advertisers to warrant such hair splitting data crunching. There are only so many jogging pant brands out there.
- kevinventullo 5y ago
  A billion users, a million advertisers? Nah, we can do it with a key-value lookup table.
- Breza 5y ago
  I used to write ad targeting algorithms. There are tons of adtech companies that claim to use AI to "find the right audience" for a given client's ads. Some of them actually do it. I only had one project at that job that was complicated enough to justify using a neural network. The VAST majority of targeting really is just a SQL lookup.

NotPractical 5y ago

"Better ads" is just one of the three reasons the Facebook app provides for enabling tracking before asking users to do so: 1. Show you ads that are more personalized 2. Help keep Facebook free of charge 3. Support businesses that rely on ads to reach their customers Source: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69222710/SpeakingUp_SmBiz_1.5.png https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69222710/... While "better ads" could be construed as a benefit for users, the other two reasons seem like an attempt to scare/guilt the user into enabling tracking. Of course, it's just a bunch of bullshit they had the marketing department come up with so they could continue to profit from tracking at least a small percentage of iOS users. Businesses don't need to rely on Facebook's invasive tracking to sell products. Don't let Facebook guilt you into giving up your personal data.

dbbk 5y ago

I opted in, because if I'm going to see ads, I would prefer they be somewhat relevant to me. And I want to support the sites/apps I use for free.

badRNG 5y ago
That's great for the 4% who want this. However, it might be a bit more user friendly to default to the no tracking option (due to the overwhelming support for that option,) and allow users who want tracking turned on to manually enable it in the settings.