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iOS 14 Features Could Hurt Facebook Ad Targeting

Andrew Orr ·

iOS 14 features like “ask to track” could hurt Facebook’s ad targeting business, said Chief Financial Officer David Wehner.

With the update to its mobile devices, Apple will ask users if they want to let app developers track their activity across other apps and websites […] The change is expected to start impacting Facebook’s advertising in the third quarter but it will have a more pronounced effect in the fourth quarter, Wehner said.

I’m sure Facebook will find other ways to track people.

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Companies Like Doordash Share Your Purchases With Facebook

Andrew Orr ·

Thomas Smith dug into his Facebook settings and downloaded a copy of his data. In a section introduced this year called Off Facebook Activity, he found that companies like Doordash send data about your purchases to Facebook.

If you’ve bought an item on myriad e-commerce websites, made a donation to a political campaign, used any of several hundred participating apps, or, in my case, bought a wildly expensive bubble tea, there’s a good chance Facebook knows about it. What are they doing with this knowledge? Again, it’s pretty clear. It’s there so it can “show you more relevant ads,” “help you discover new businesses and brands,” and the like.

He also sounds incredibly guilty for buying bubble tea through Doordash.

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Facebook Considers Adding Face ID to Messenger Chats

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook’s latest experiment involves adding Face ID / Touch ID protection to Messenger chats.

When enabled, users will need to authenticate their identity using Face ID, Touch ID, or their passcode before they can view their inbox, even if their phone is already unlocked. […] The company is currently testing the new security feature among a small percentage of Messenger’s iOS users, though it could eventually be available more widely, including on Android.

I’d love to seen an option to lock any app with Face ID / Touch ID.

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Facebook Helped Hack ‘Tails’ OS to Catch a Child Predator

Andrew Orr ·

A report today from Motherboard details how Facebook and the FBI used a zero-day exploit for privacy OS Tails to catch a child predator. The reason I’m specifically linking to it is because of this paragraph:

Facebook told Motherboard that it does not specialize in developing hacking exploits and did not want to set the expectation with law enforcement that this is something it would do regularly. Facebook says that it identified the approach that would be used but did not develop the specific exploit, and only pursued the hacking option after exhausting all other options.

That is a slippery slope argument that will be used by politicians, like how Apple does what it can to help the FBI get into terrorists’ iPhones. “But you helped them before, why not again?” More fuel on the EARN IT fire.

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Facebook Bought Giphy. What Does That Mean for Privacy?

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook announced today that it’s acquiring Giphy for an alleged sum of US$400 million.

Facebook characterized the acquisition—reportedly worth $400 million—as a way to help its millions of users “better express themselves.” […] Facebook says it will not collect information specific to individual people using Giphy’s API, but it will get valuable data about usage patterns across the web.

I definitely don’t believe them when they say that won’t collect individual data. That is Facebook’s raison d’être. This is exactly like its usage of the Onavo VPN spyware: Collect data on how people use GIFs everywhere, especially on competitor’s platforms. Mark Zuckerberg is furiously trying to beat Snapchat into submission. They rejected him once and he’s been out for blood ever since. GIFs may sound like a stretch when it comes to data collection, but keep in mind that web beacons exist.

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Facebook Removes ‘Pseudoscience’ Category for Targeted Ads

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook is no longer allowing advertisers to use pseudoscience as a category with which to target people.

The company eliminated the pseudoscience category from its “detailed targeting” list on Wednesday, the spokeswoman said by phone, after tech news site The Markup showed that it could advertise a post targeting people interested in pseudoscience.

The Markup demonstrated that Facebook was allowing such ads after saying it would police COVID-19 misinformation on its platform. More than 78 million Facebook users were interested in “pseudoscience,” it said, citing Facebook’s ad portal.

Good to see Facebook doing this. Now we just need YouTube to stop recommending conspiracy videos.