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Economists talk of the public good, ethicists and privacy folks talk of a right to privacy of a citizen (in some countries, at least)... but has anyone had an a
by mwexler 5y ago
Economists talk of the public good, ethicists and privacy folks talk of a right to privacy of a citizen (in some countries, at least)... but has anyone had an actual "experience improvement" from all this blocking? Do you see less ads or "better" ones? Has your business picked up due to this change, in that poor-but-targeted ads have ceased and "contextually relevant" ads let your business thrive?
That is, this action by Apple should have remedied some consumer harm. While de-anonymyzation of advertising data could reveal, in some cases, identities and geo-behaviors, this seemed proof of concept more than actual impacts.
In looking at my own iphone use, the blocking has not resulted in any improvement in ad frequency, relevance, or enjoyment. My android ads on my tablet have also not shown any measurable improvement. The businesses I help are not benefitting from this change.
So, other than the satisfaction of "job well done, privacy is preserved", has anyone found any direct improvement to user experience from this action? I know none was really expected, that wasn't the point, but just wondering what the HN community has experienced so far.
- helen___keller 5y agoI would be very surprised if anybody found an experience improvement, considering there are still ads. That doesn't do to justify tracking, however. Fun thought experiment: suppose that Facebook served fewer ads to those who clicked to allow tracking, on the basis that the ads are worth more, and served more ads otherwise. Which do you think consumers would prefer to choose on average? This isn't rhetorical, I genuinely wonder because I don't know how much people actually care about tracking versus just picking "don't track me" as an easy win.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]