And while we all like Pizza, the same data analytics can be used to influence our opinions and tailor our social media streams to ensure that we live within our own echo chambers, keeping us engaged and online for longer, selling us more stuff and shaping our points of view.Įvery app, every platform, every service that fuels these profiles simply exacerbates this situation. Each datapoint enables an advertiser to specific the audience it wants to reach. That all seems fairly harmless, but the profiles that companies like Google and Facebook can build on each of us is much more granular than this.

We also may use your IP address to determine your approximate location, so that we can serve you ads for a nearby pizza delivery service if you search for ‘pizza’.” MORE FROM FORBES Why You Need To Update Your Samsung 5G Phone After Critical New Warning ByĪs Google explains, “if you watch videos about baking on YouTube, you may see more ads that relate to baking as you browse the web. That’s why Safari blocks trackers whereas Chrome is trialing its convoluted, flawed FLoC solution to maintain its targeted ad machine. Everything we’re now talking about as regards privacy flows back to that simple premise. And the more tailored and targeted those ads are, the more likely you are to respond and buy, and the more money Google can charge its customers to show you those ads. It makes most of its money by selling access to you by showing you ads. If you don’t buy its devices and services, it doesn’t make money. And that’s credible because Apple is a product company. Apple sets out to put user privacy first, it has become one of the company’s unique selling points. But there is a fundamentally different approach to privacy here as well-and ultimately it comes down to trust.

Google pictures