Facebook Is Betting That Users Secretly Like Targeted Advertising
Apple’s new privacy measures will test the theory that underlies Facebook’s business model
Facebook recently launched an ad campaign to defend personalized advertising against Apple’s new privacy measures. The campaign, called “Good Ideas Deserve to Be Found,” touts targeted ads as a boon for small businesses. Here’s one of the ads, which I found amusing, if perhaps not exactly in the way that Facebook intended.
The ad push comes ahead of a change in Apple’s policies that could dramatically affect Facebook and other app makers’ ability to track iOS users for advertising purposes. Starting this spring, iPhone users will see a pop-up when they open an app that tracks them, giving them the option to opt out. Previously, that option was buried in settings panels that few users ever open; now, it will be unmissable.
Facebook and the makers of other data-hungry mobile apps are afraid that many people — perhaps even most people — will opt out. Hence the ad campaign, which comes after Facebook has already run full-page newspaper ads decrying the changes and has…
