The changes to Apple’s privacy policy is not all that big, it just requires that users opt-in to be tracked by apps and select with apps are allowed to do so. It is your data after all, and you have the right to choose how you want to share it. By allowing the option to opt-in for ad data collection instead of just open access to collect what the ad groups want, it puts the control back in the hands of the consumer (where it should be).
However, this change apparently has put a big dent in Zuckerberg’s ad revenue to the tune of around $10 billion. This has not deterred Zuck and the gang as they are now committed to rebuild their ad services so they can continue to deliver personalized ads, and of course collect as much data about you as they possibly can. This makes you, the Facebook user, the product for sale here. Facebook/Meta needs that data to continue to make revenue off your use of the platform. This is not a bad things as many sites make money using ads, what is a bit different is the amount of data collected, how it is stored, and how it is later used.
This hit to Facebook’s bottom line comes as they report less users this quarter (down by about 40 million). Their revenue was above expectations, but only just. For their big “Metaverse” push (which has its own complications) they are steadily losing money as they work to get it off the ground and gain acceptance. However, that acceptance does not seem to be materializing in the right ways with Meta’s Reality Labs losing a crisp $10 Billion in 2021. So far, the reality is that the reception of a metaverse controlled by a company like Facebook is not being received well at all by the public. The drive by Facebook/Meta to make this a reality might even impact sales of the Quest as they force this concept on anyone that owns one.
