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Perplexity CEO says its browser will track everything users do online to sell ‘hyper personalized’ ads https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/24/perplexity-ceo-says-it

Perplexity CEO says its browser will track everything users do online to sell ‘hyper personalized’ ads https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/24/perplexity-ceo-says-its-browser-will-track-everything-users-do-online-to-sell-hyper-personalized-ads/ https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/24/perplexity-ceo-says-its-br...

latexr 1y ago
A web browser which tracks everything you do and you have to pay for the privilege…
- swed420 1y ago
  It's kind of wild how the west draws this distinction: If China does it while being responsible and taking into account cost/benefits on overall human well being, it's Creepy Big Brother Communism. If the US does it and charges money for it (or makes it 'free' by selling your personal info to untrustworthy companies / selling you junk you don't need) it's an innovative futuristic privilege. Cold War propaganda was incredibly effective through generations. edit: changed "If China does it for free" to "If China does it" since it had some distracting assumptions
  - ericmcer 1y ago
    no one in this thread is calling the tracking in this innovative. Additionally the government doesn't do anything for "free", if you make 200k a year you are paying $8k/mo or $10/hour just to live in the USA.
    - swed420 1y ago
      > no one in this thread is calling the tracking in this innovative I didn't say otherwise. But clearly Perplexity (and Google etc) feels there is a market fit for this, so I'm referring to those customers and whatever future customers might come. This is also nothing new. See: basically all existing social media and its consequences. > Additionally the government doesn't do anything for "free" I reworded this since it wasn't the point, and had some assumptions made about usage.
  - GlitchRider47 1y ago
    I think it's worth pointing out that in China it is the government doing it, whereas in the US it is private companies (in this particular context).
    - swed420 1y ago
      Um, obviously? You seem to have missed the point. People ought to be most interested in the final outcome of each example.
      - notahacker 1y ago
        Yeah. However wild some of the "America is the land of the free, China is a hellhole" takes are, there is a difference between a tracking system designed to try to sell you holidays and a tracking system used to identify political dissidents.
        swed420 1y ago
        > there is a difference between a tracking system designed to try to sell you holidays and a tracking system used to identify political dissidents I have a feeling this assumption will age poorly.
        GlitchRider47 1y ago
        Why? People are openly dissident in the US.
        swed420 1y ago
        On the HN front page today: U.S. will review social media for foreign student visa applications https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44524749 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44524749 History tells us it won't stop here.
        GlitchRider47 1y ago
  - roboror 1y ago
    Can you give an example of what China produces for free to the benefit of overall human well being, as well as instances of people calling Comet "an innovative futuristic privilege?"
    - swed420 1y ago
      https://old.reddit.com/r/stupidpol/comments/1lvoi0x/theres_a_race_to_power_the_future_china_is/ https://old.reddit.com/r/stupidpol/comments/1lvoi0x/theres_a... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38242135-ai-superpowers https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38242135-ai-superpowers https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523917 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523917
      - roboror 1y ago
        Are you unable to articulate your own response? These links don't do anything to help you.
        swed420 1y ago
        They point people who are interested to the information without me having to spoon feed it to them. If you're not interested, don't click.
        roboror 1y ago
        This is the equivalent of being on stage at a debate, putting a book on the podium and leaving.
        swed420 1y ago
        The reason the live debate format isn't taken seriously by intellectuals is because it's not a competition in the pursuit of truth but in deception and theatrics. Continue making excuses to not investigate the thing you clearly don't want to hear.
internetter 1y ago
This reads like the onion
- vpShane 1y ago
  It's the same website (techcrunch) that OP posted too, but if you watch any of Perplexity CEO's interviews, it's clear as day.
itsoktocry 1y ago
Just pitching to VCs...why would any person want that?
MangoToupe 1y ago
Ah. Well this explains why they didn't go with the pitch that AI can be a sufficient adblocker, which strikes me as the obvious use of AI.
bicepjai 1y ago
This makes me rethink their subscription I have. So we just have to assume any search we do on perplexity is tracked like hunting dogs ?

latexr 1y ago

A web browser which tracks everything you do and you have to pay for the privilege…

swed420 1y ago
It's kind of wild how the west draws this distinction: If China does it while being responsible and taking into account cost/benefits on overall human well being, it's Creepy Big Brother Communism. If the US does it and charges money for it (or makes it 'free' by selling your personal info to untrustworthy companies / selling you junk you don't need) it's an innovative futuristic privilege. Cold War propaganda was incredibly effective through generations. edit: changed "If China does it for free" to "If China does it" since it had some distracting assumptions
- ericmcer 1y ago
  no one in this thread is calling the tracking in this innovative. Additionally the government doesn't do anything for "free", if you make 200k a year you are paying $8k/mo or $10/hour just to live in the USA.
  - swed420 1y ago
    > no one in this thread is calling the tracking in this innovative I didn't say otherwise. But clearly Perplexity (and Google etc) feels there is a market fit for this, so I'm referring to those customers and whatever future customers might come. This is also nothing new. See: basically all existing social media and its consequences. > Additionally the government doesn't do anything for "free" I reworded this since it wasn't the point, and had some assumptions made about usage.
- GlitchRider47 1y ago
  I think it's worth pointing out that in China it is the government doing it, whereas in the US it is private companies (in this particular context).
  - swed420 1y ago
    Um, obviously? You seem to have missed the point. People ought to be most interested in the final outcome of each example.
    - notahacker 1y ago
      Yeah. However wild some of the "America is the land of the free, China is a hellhole" takes are, there is a difference between a tracking system designed to try to sell you holidays and a tracking system used to identify political dissidents.
      - swed420 1y ago
        > there is a difference between a tracking system designed to try to sell you holidays and a tracking system used to identify political dissidents I have a feeling this assumption will age poorly.
        GlitchRider47 1y ago
        Why? People are openly dissident in the US.
        swed420 1y ago
        On the HN front page today: U.S. will review social media for foreign student visa applications https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44524749 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44524749 History tells us it won't stop here.
        GlitchRider47 1y ago
- roboror 1y ago
  Can you give an example of what China produces for free to the benefit of overall human well being, as well as instances of people calling Comet "an innovative futuristic privilege?"
  - swed420 1y ago
    https://old.reddit.com/r/stupidpol/comments/1lvoi0x/theres_a_race_to_power_the_future_china_is/ https://old.reddit.com/r/stupidpol/comments/1lvoi0x/theres_a... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38242135-ai-superpowers https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38242135-ai-superpowers https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523917 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44523917
    - roboror 1y ago
      Are you unable to articulate your own response? These links don't do anything to help you.
      - swed420 1y ago
        They point people who are interested to the information without me having to spoon feed it to them. If you're not interested, don't click.
        roboror 1y ago
        This is the equivalent of being on stage at a debate, putting a book on the podium and leaving.
        swed420 1y ago
        The reason the live debate format isn't taken seriously by intellectuals is because it's not a competition in the pursuit of truth but in deception and theatrics. Continue making excuses to not investigate the thing you clearly don't want to hear.

internetter 1y ago

This reads like the onion

vpShane 1y ago
It's the same website (techcrunch) that OP posted too, but if you watch any of Perplexity CEO's interviews, it's clear as day.

itsoktocry 1y ago

Just pitching to VCs...why would any person want that?

MangoToupe 1y ago

Ah. Well this explains why they didn't go with the pitch that AI can be a sufficient adblocker, which strikes me as the obvious use of AI.

bicepjai 1y ago

This makes me rethink their subscription I have. So we just have to assume any search we do on perplexity is tracked like hunting dogs ?