Mozilla Launches Petition Urging Apple to Reset Interest-Based Ad Identifiers on Monthly Basis

[DoctorTech]

I don’t know what this stuff really means or how it works, but how does this benefit Mozilla? What are they gaining?

I think Mozilla's stake in this is all about free advertising (we are all talking about them right now) and positioning themselves as a privacy advocate by encouraging Apple to go a step further to protect customer privacy. I think it was a good move on Mozilla's part and I hope Apple does as they suggest.

 

[dilbert99]

No one really cares. I really don't see why some people get so offended over advertising. Advertising is how many companies get sales, to produce more products, for you to continue to consume.

I would bet that those who sing the praises of anonymity of being on iPhone will not take the time to do a daily or monthly reset of the identifier.

 

[DoctorTech]

No one really cares. I really don't see why some people get so offended over advertising. Advertising is how many companies get sales, to produce more products, for you to continue to consume.

Advertising can be done in a MUCH less intrusive way. Newspapers, Magazines, Radio and TV programs existed for decades using content / demographic based ads. The philosophy basically says if you want to sell laundry detergent you advertise on TV during "daytime drama" shows (aka "soap operas" because the shows were often sponsored by detergent brands). If you want to sell fishing rods, you advertise in a fishing / outdoor lifestyle magazine. Just place your print / radio / TV ad where your target demographic is likely to be. I don't think many people are offended over this.

However, the Internet has enabled advertisers to go so far beyond this time honored approach to advertising by building incredibly detailed profiles on the reading / viewing / search habits of people. I fully understand the value of putting a truck / lawn mower / bicycle ad in front of a person you know (based on their reading / viewing / search history) is in the market to buy such products. It is the fact that advertisers are accumulating so much private information - who has searched for a gun shop / shooting range? - who has searched for a divorce lawyer? - who has searched for an abortion provider or looked up a phone number for suicide prevention? Who has read articles about drug rehab? Who is that information going to be shared with? Do you want your employer to know you have been looking for another job or your insurance company to know you have been looking up symptoms of chronic diseases with expensive treatments?

 

[WaltCD]

I'm in the category of not minding targeted advertising, either. I figure if I'm gonna see ads, show me ads for something I'm interested in.

Apple's done it right: They've provided tools to erase your history IF YOU WANT to. There's no reason in the world why it should be forced upon a person. A person like me would have to build up their history again, meanwhile seeing useless ads.

And to slide_to_unlock, the key here is targeted advertising. You want to send me advertising to my house for stuff I'm interested in, go ahead. It's much better than seeing stuff I don't want.

 

[juan99999]

I've been resetting every two weeks for a while.

What concerns me more is the privacy settings and ways apps are able to work around that today. For example, Instagram banned my device (using my device ID?) and I had to reset my phone to get it working again. My account worked on other devices. Why are they able to store info on my phone to begin with when I delete the app and reinstall (I wiped all ad settings, cookies, content, icloud content...).

Similarly, a while back, I caught waze sending a text message from my phone (and then deleting it).

Also, most apps can collect wi-fi data and figure out your location even when privacy settings disable location services. I think they can also know what other apps are installed on your phone WHY!

Why can't we control ALL info apps use/have access to? I'm tired of giving my data away to these large corporations, and yes, before anyone asks I'm willing to pay for my privacy.

APPLE MAKE OUR DATA PRIVATE or at least GIVE US THE CHOICE TO OPT OUT!

 

[FairlyKors]

No one really cares. I really don't see why some people get so offended over advertising. Advertising is how many companies get sales, to produce more products, for you to continue to consume.

It that’s all, it would be fine. But advertisers abuse anything they can. I have a friend who has worked in the lead gen space for over a decade and it’s absolutely filthy what goes on behind the scenes. Especially who gets taken advantage of the most. Any Leave It to Beaver type advertiser wouldn’t last a day. This is just one of those industries that’s predatory. It always has been and always will be, partly because they have zero visibility and very little accountability. Even laws that are in place don’t always do a ton of good.

 

[Tech198]

Even better, a setting to reset it hourly, daily, etc

No reason for that manual method then, unless you start giving us more options for this as well

Life was once simple.... The idea is less options, not more. Pick one, and stick with it Apple. I get users want the options there, but this excludes privacy, as if done right, there is no "option"

 

[CollinH]

Except...you already know what an exaggeration that is, without me having to tell you. You also know there is a difference between tracking certain kinds of activity and devices listening in on you. These are not the same things.

It's an illustration, but not an exaggeration. Tracking and listening are different but they are based on the same premise and process, intimately connected. One accompanies the other. If you fail to see this, you are woefully naive, my friend.