Apple's Privacy Features Have Cost Social Media Companies Nearly $10 Billion in Revenue

[Saturn007]

"It's a start, but you know what would really hurt Facebook? Uninstalling it and it's awful associated apps. Good riddance."​

That's a good first step... but the problem is that Google and FB's SDK are built into the apps we use; their tracking cookies are built into the websites we visit, etc.

Even if you've never belonged to Facebook, or Google (YouTube, etc.), they still track you! To show that, back up your cookies (to save log-in cookies), then clear them out, then visit such sites as the New York Times and the Washington Post. Afterwards, look at your cookie list and enjoy seeing Facebook and Google-related cookie. Or, run their apps on your i-devices. They're still tracking you. (Buried in their privacy policies will be references to third-party tracking.). If they fetch web content, your Safari browser will end up with their cookies, even you weren't using it!

Definitely worthwhile installing cookie and tracking blockers. I use Cookie on the Mac along with several different Ad blockers. Cookie lets you whitelist certain sites, thus preserving log-in cookies, while blocking trackers. You can also set it so that it automatically deletes cookies every couple of minutes. Safari on the i-devices should come with that built-in!

Glad to see FB take a hit and Zuckerberg, too!

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Who knew keeping your privacy secure would cost this much.

 

[MacUser09]

Poor Suckerberg. Must be having sleepless nights that he's lost a few noughts off of his bank statement.

 

[rgeneral]

Wow. great news on a Monday.

 

[bobtem]

I’m gonna start a GoFundMe account for Facebook, help them recover lost revenue. Set a goal of $10B, or is that too much?

 

[rweiser]

And the locks on my front door cost some local thieves nearly $1000 in revenue!

 

[rpmurray]

That's some BS number. Advertisers still spending money. Just the Ads are less targeted.

The ads aren't really targeted at all. Just go to Youtube and check out a few videos. You will get the same ads over and over again. If they were really targeted then they'd know you're not interested (especially when you click to skip the ad) and switch them out with new ads.

 

[tigerintank]

Suspect the $10B is an exaggeration - whatever the number is, if someone has lost $XB then someone else has saved $XB to spend on other things - additional sales staff as an example.

 

[MrDerby01]

This is an article I found.. This might help make sense of what is happening over at FB.

An 'emotional' Mark Zuckerberg reportedly sounded 'pretty mad' during today's earnings call

The latest Speed Read,/speed-reads,,speed-reads, breaking news, comment, reviews and features from the experts at The Week

theweek.com

They say Zuckerberg was really upset on the earnings call. Wonder how the stock holders are feeling?

 

[iReality85]

Now imagine if all those billions went towards people’s social well being instead of being pocketed for profit. And it’s been what, barely a year?

If you want to solve the cost of social programs, benefits, and entitlements, it will be through monetizing personal data not for the benefit of business, but for the benefit of people.

 

[cyberlocke]

Although in other news, Apple users are complaining about the significant increase in subscription models for apps that were free, due to ads. Can't have it both ways. Expect subscriptions to become more widely used to make up for this.

Exactly. If we, as consumers, want to see fewer ads, we are going to have to be willing to pony up some money to make that happen. Nothing is free. If you're not buying the product, you are the product.

 

[laptech]

I have no doubt companies affected by Apple's ATT will find ways around it.

It will happen exactly the same way in which companies deal with their tax obligations. Governments put taxes in place for all sorts of things and for different reasons. Companies then hire accountants to find legal ways to avoid paying the right amount of tax by finding multiple rules, adding them together and hey presto, legal tax avoidance.

Companies who rely on selling user data to 3rd parties for their survival will do exactly the same. They will hire lawyers and software programmers to come up with ways to legally get around Apple's ATT.

 

[JetLaw]

Terrific news.

 

[mac_rumors_reader]

Not a fan of FBook et. al. at all. Interesting fact: Apple's ad revenues jumped by about $5B as it allows itself to use your info to place ads since its "privacy" rules only applies to 3rd parties. Ask yourself, when FBook's ad revenues shift to Apple after implementing its new "privacy" rules... does something seem amiss ???

Your statement is actually not correct, you can also turn off targeted ads from Apple in your settings. Go to Settings -> Privacy -> Apple Advertising.

 

[Marzzz]

LOL, to this day I have never had a FB account…!

 

[iReality85]

LOL, to this day I have never had a FB account…!

But FB most assuredly has a robust account of you.

 

[velocityg4]

I guess “Think of the Small Business” is the corporate giants equivalent of “Think of the Children”.

 

[sviato]

Yes, it could be correct here if they included Snapchat and WhatsApp in the figure, so referring to the Meta group, but Snapchat is listed separately, so it should be Facebook.

Snapchat is not under Meta/Facebook

 

[blaureiter]

While I have "prevent cross tracking" enabled and other security features and I have never been a FaceBook member, I will always find a Facebook.com and Facebook.net in my cookies. Until you can have a list of sites (IP addresses) to prevent connection in Safari, it is still have baked. I just open cookies at the end of the day and clean out want I do note want - every time there is "FaceBook."

 

[bobtem]

If so many people hate FB, then why is it still around?

 

[spinedoc77]

This was an issue from the very beginning. Default should be opted out, and ONLY if I manually opt in should I be part of the marketing. This massive deception from the beginning is to blame, Apple is only putting it right (and of course benefiting from their own in house advertising, but we won't mention that on here).

For me it's like saying the police cost a bank robber $1 million because they foisted their bank robbery attempt. Yeah I get that it's a crappy analogy because robbing a bank is illegal, I just feel that opting people into marketing automatically should be illegal as well.

 

[cardfan]

If so many people hate FB, then why is it still around?

They use Facebook but hate on it. Weird

 

[Marzzz]

But FB most assuredly has a robust account of you.

I don't doubt that for a nanosecond

 

[cardfan]

Exactly. If we, as consumers, want to see fewer ads, we are going to have to be willing to pony up some money to make that happen. Nothing is free. If you're not buying the product, you are the product.

Apple is only getting started though. This is about apple and their ads. Nothing more. Yep you’re the product.

 

[MJaP]

...so you're all SO concerned about privacy... and yet you all use macrumors.com ever wondered who they're selling your data to?... Let me show you...

Did you get a cookie popup once and only once when you first visited the site? It defaults to the "Purposes" tab... did you think to click on the "vendors" tab:

macrumors calls these advertising parasite "our partners" there are over 100 of them listed... looks like they're all turned off doesn't it?... but no, they are being highly deceptive, if you click on one of them...

Oh look INSIDE "legitimate interest" is turned on even though "consent" is turned off... and believe me, what constitutes "legitimate interest" is a VERY flexible term, and so macrumors sells your details to over 100 advertising partners without your knowledge and they sell it on to others.

You would have to open up each individual vendor and individually click on each green slider to turn it off... that's over 200 clicks... vile insidious marketing practice. I wonder if we can report them to the European Union for breech of GDPR as there should be a single simple click to turn off Legitimate Interest, other sites manage it, but apparently macrumors doesn't.