from Hacker News

Apple is building an ad empire as its iPhone privacy crackdown weakens rivals

by galogon on 8/21/22, 1:05 PM with 167 comments

• by Havoc on 8/21/22, 2:06 PM

  Sounds like they're copying google with their desire to get rid of cookies / FLOC etc.

  Strong privacy stance on privacy for others (and in media)...but very quiet on 1st party inhouse ability to connect the dots.

  I have a hard time seeing how this doesn't end in anti-trust tears for both of them

• by greenthrow on 8/21/22, 1:30 PM

  This article does not support its clickbait headline with much in the way of facts. "Analysts estimate" that Apple's ad revenue could drastically increase. Insiders talk of a reorganization. There might be ads included in more apps. The headline makes a major assertion the body does not support.

• by justapassenger on 8/21/22, 2:35 PM

  We sell you super expensive product, charge everyone 30% tax for anything you buy on it, put health monitoring devices on you (that you pay for), have directly your credit cards in the wallet (including custom one from us) and in the end capture more data that any other ads giant now.

  And we’ll use that for ads. But it’s fine. It’s locally so it’s fine and you are not a product. All because we convinced people using our deep pockets that they should only care if data is on servers?

• by ftyhbhyjnjk on 8/21/22, 1:24 PM

  Apple is a hypocrite. Have been saying this for years now. A deeply corrupted, arrogant and empathyless organization.

• by ftyhbhyjnjk on 8/21/22, 1:38 PM

  Apple smells like a dystopian corporate org.

• by tzs on 8/21/22, 3:19 PM

  > Apple’s ad business began to boom following changes it made last year to its app tracking policies that made it easier for iPhone users to opt out of being tracked across other apps on their phones.

  What's the mechanism here? Is it something like this? Before the change:

  1. I use say a free (with ads) guitar tuner app.

  2. That app usage gets shared with Facebook's app.

  3. Facebook now knows I'm probably a guitar player, or at least probably play some instrument that is commonly tuned by the player.

  4. Companies who want to reach guitar players buy ads on Facebook. A Facebook ad has a good chance of reaching me.

  After the change:

  1. I use a free (with ads) guitar tuner app, but opt out of cross app tracking.

  2. Facebook is less likely to find out I'm a guitar player. This reduces the value of Facebook ads to the companies that want to reach guitar players.

  3. They shift some of their ad budget from Facebook ads to ads in guitar tuner apps.

• by ramesh31 on 8/21/22, 1:24 PM

  Apple is uniquely positioned to come out on top of the cookie-pocalypse. All of their work with Apple ID will pay off once they have the largest first party audiencing capability in the world.

• by ElCheapo on 8/21/22, 2:09 PM

  The moment they try something like this I'm popping out my 5yo Android phone with no Google sevices and adiòs. I already use a pretty much stock iOS system and only because the apps are just so convenient and ad-free, but if push comes to shove I'll have to retreat to AOSP default options.

• by 88840-8855 on 8/21/22, 1:49 PM

  And this is hopefully killing Apple. Right now they charge a premium for 1) having a seamless experience between devices, 2) being something else than google. Apple was interesting because you was paying for the hardware and software with money, not with data.

  Regarding 1) Hopefully the EU will help breaking up the monopoly

  Regarding 2) Why should I buy apple and pay the premium? I will buy Samsung or Huawei.

• by seydor on 8/21/22, 5:26 PM

  Apple must remember that it's a lifestyle brand. If their customers start seeing ads it will damage the brand substantially.

• by illwrks on 8/21/22, 1:47 PM

  Imagine this with a business version/evolution of AirTags, digital targeted advertising with a physical element.

• by bfrog on 8/21/22, 1:37 PM

  Yeah if ads are added, I’d like my money refunded

• by bee_rider on 8/21/22, 2:45 PM

  If I were Apple, I'd try serving ads something like:

  Send a randomized bundle of ads to each iPhone (the ads must come from my servers). From that bundle, select the ads that fit user interests most closely. Don't report which specific ad the user was served.

  This would presumably be quite annoying for advertisers, but it would preserve user privacy and, hey, Apple basically has a monopoly on users who actually pay for apps so what are they going to do? Perhaps the advertiser could be provided with some artificial profiles with statistically representative taste profiles to see how often their ads come up.

• by stjohnswarts on 8/21/22, 8:33 PM

  I don't care if the rivals fold and close up shop lol. Also I don't have to stick with apple if they start shoving ads at me constantly. To be honest I -could- get by with a flip phone or just using my iphone as such and turning off data. I consider most of the trappings of iphones as niceties and not necessities. All I really need is to check my email, sms, and receive calls. Most times I have a laptop with me to do the rest.

• by chiefalchemist on 8/21/22, 1:40 PM

  Google and Facebook build ad empires after kneecapping everyone's privacy.

  But seriously, the aggregated annual revenue of the Top 5 (in the first chart in the article) is $375b. Regardless of what Apple has said or done, why would anyone think Apple wouldn't want a piece of that action?

  I'm not defending Apple, only being objective and realistic.

• by elforce002 on 8/21/22, 7:44 PM

  The question will go to which company do you hate the least. I've used Android since forever and I'm planning on jumping ship. Apple is playing its cards to perfection. "No one is gonna track you... except for us, of course, but we won't be like those leeches at fb/googl".

  Their brand is strong and consumer perception is everything. Fb has lost all credibility and loosing ground every day which explains their hail mary move with meta and googl with their "don't be evil" backfired really hard after they removed the slogan + change directions on different things + their "graveyard" and failed ventures (google plus, stadia, etc...).

  "Luckily" for them (googl/fb), the rest of the world doesn't have the purchase parity of the US and they can milk that cow. Heck, Fb basically is the "internet" in some countries and TSPs have offerings around it (Free Fb, Ig, Ws Navigation).

• by JulianaRestrepo on 8/21/22, 3:04 PM

  as usual the apple subreddit was cheering for this before the thread got removed

• by mark_l_watson on 8/21/22, 2:00 PM

  Well, after selling 2 billion iPhones, it makes sense that Apple needs to start making money in other ways, such as user services in Apple+ (which I think is a good deal, especially for the family plan).

  Just my opinion but I don't much mind some advertisements if I feel like they are not impacting my devices' security or my privacy.

  I am a huge fan of Apple's new Lockdown Mode - I have it enabled 99% of the time.

• by franczesko on 8/21/22, 1:21 PM

  Hate the phone, love the stock.

• by bwb on 8/21/22, 1:35 PM

  capitalism?

• by teekert on 8/21/22, 1:42 PM

  They talk about Apple maps and I for one would like to be able to say I’m looking for a restaurant and see the logos pop up along my route.

  I’m just hoping Apple will keep their privacy focus. Ads and privacy do not need to be opposed ideas. Ie, my fav Dutch tech blog tweakers.net recently removed all tracking form their ads and serve them locally. I gladly turned off adblock for them and the site was still pleasant. Ads are tech relevant, well labeled, unobtrusive and not about what I bought 2 months ago, win win.