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Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
20,382
23,857
Singapore
It’s happening. In subtle ways, you can see Apple’s plays chipping away at Facebook’s clutch on the Internet.

Tile just removed Facebook login “due to changes in Apple’s policies”.
View attachment 931529

This is of course about Sign In With Apple. Giving people the option to use Apple’s anonymous sign in method will begin ending Facebook’s monopoly on tracking people around the Internet, from site to site, app to app.

But it gets bigger: App Clips, introduced at WWDC, work exclusively with Sign In With Apple. Facebook sign in is not allowed.

This is bigger than people are noticing right now. App Clips will be everywhere in cities. From tapping a scooter to rent it, to tapping a parking meter to pay, to tapping a counter at a cafe to order your drink or a table at a restaurant to bring up the menu.

Facebook will have *none* of that data. This is going to hurt them. Whether or not Apple is doing this deliberately or just “accidentally” killing Facebook by a thousand cuts is up for debate, I guess. To me, it seems very intentional.

I wonder if this was Apple’s end game all along. I have always wondered how Apple planned to enforce the use of Sign In with Apple for developers, but if they can get them to drop support for sign in with Facebook as a concession, it’s a win for Apple either way.
 

Puonti

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2011
1,567
1,187
I wonder if this was Apple’s end game all along. I have always wondered how Apple planned to enforce the use of Sign In with Apple for developers, but if they can get them to drop support for sign in with Facebook as a concession, it’s a win for Apple either way.

To be fair, Tile removing Facebook login support "due to changes in Apple's policies" was not because those policies outlaw Facebook login. They don't. Tile has grievances with Apple on a business level and refused to implement Sign in with Apple out of spite, so their only option was to remove third-party social logins (Facebook) and offer only their own, internal email-based account system to iOS users.

But as you said, either way is fine for Apple. Either developers support Sign in with Apple (which, to be clear, is great for Apple customers), or they don't support third-party login systems (such as Facebook).
 

ipedro

macrumors 603
Original poster
Nov 30, 2004
6,325
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Toronto, ON
Ultimately, while Apple can make it harder (or impossible) for Facebook to track Apple users and limit their revenue potential, Facebook has gotten so big that they can look for other options to generate revenue.

Where Apple can have the biggest impact is to give iPhone, iPad and Mac users built in options that replace what people use Facebook for.

I used to be a heavy Facebook user. I was there for the community. All my friends and family from all over the world were there. We could keep up with each others lives, and see photos of our day to day.

While the iOS Photos app has made that easier, it would need to be cross platform to include everyone somebody knows.

Secondly, while iMessage allows you remain in touch, it requires an active conversation. What Facebook and other social media networks offer is a passive connection. You can scroll through a feed and see what people are up to and then choose to engage or not.

iOS 14 Messages’ pinned people seems like the beginning of a built in social network. Imagine if you could tap on a pinned friend and see their recently shared photos, liked Apple Music songs and plays lists and even shared Apple News stories.

Moreover, what if your pinned contacts also show up directly in your Photos app with their Shared albums? And show up in your suggestions in Apple Music. And appear in your Apple News feed. Apple has an opportunity to Sherlock Facebook. I hope they keep pushing that forward.

What do/did you use Facebook for and how can that be replaced in iOS?
 
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Mactendo

macrumors 68000
Oct 3, 2012
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iOS 14 Messages’ pinned people seems like the beginning of a built in social network.
The issue is that at such speed it will take few years until Apple theoretically comes up with something usable and competitive like social network. Apple has all the pieces and power but it’s blind or lazy. They are more busy with PC and entertainment stuff. TV shows, games, emojis...

As for the people tracking, Facebook isn’t the only one who does it. There are companies who collect massive amounts of info about online users, tracking them via cookies on websites. Sometimes such info can be pretty accurate. Having your email, home address, history of online purchases, your hobbies, income, political views, sexual preferences, health, etc. They build a profile of each user and resell that info to advertisers. And some of that info was leaked. So there’re other (and maybe bigger) sharks, not just Facebook.

In 2012, Target mailed maternity coupons to a high school student after an in-house analytics system figured out she was pregnant — before she had even told her parents — because of the data it collected from her web browsing.

 

Puonti

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2011
1,567
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The issue is that at such speed it will take few years until Apple theoretically comes up with something usable and competitive like social network. Apple has all the pieces and power but it’s blind or lazy.

Apple's already tried their hand at it, kind of, with Ping. It failed miserably and I seriously doubt Apple is in any hurry to build another social network regardless of what their plans are for continuing to improve customer privacy on their devices. If a social network is on their radar at all, I'm sure they'd be perfectly happy to create the groundwork for it slowly.

The OP did propose this idea of how Apple can help kill Facebook, but as I see it Apple probably doesn't have a todo-list with "Kill Facebook" on it. Rather, they have a bunch of other goals they want to reach, some of which happen to also be harmful to certain other companies. It's kind of like you want to have some healthy fish in your diet but to do that a fish has to be killed.
 

Mactendo

macrumors 68000
Oct 3, 2012
1,967
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Apple's already tried their hand at it, kind of, with Ping.
Ping was a whole different thing.
If a social network is on their radar at all
It can be much more than social network. There’s a huge potential. Like WeChat. It’s not just a messenger or a social network, it’s everything. Apple has all the pieces but they are scattered across many apps.
 

Puonti

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2011
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Like WeChat. It’s not just a messenger or a social network, it’s everything. Apple has all the pieces but they are scattered across many apps.

I don't see Apple doing an iOS / iPadOS / macOS app like WeChat, that would combine Contacts, iMessages, Mail, App Store, Camera, Photos, and whatever else social network-y they might come up with. WeChat's wildly successful but there's no business case for Apple to do the same, because Apple makes money from hardware and services and neither one of those benefits from building a single monolithic app.

Instead you should look at Apple's operating systems and how they are gradually becoming a more unified software development target for third parties. Those operating systems are Apple's "WeChat"; they sell the hardware and enable existing and future services.
 

Mactendo

macrumors 68000
Oct 3, 2012
1,967
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Those operating systems are Apple's "WeChat"; they sell the hardware and enable existing and future services.
OS and apps are completely different things. But that's what probably Apple is thinking, that their iPhone/iOS is the final user experience, and miss a potentially huge opportunity here. For users the final experience is apps.
WeChat's wildly successful but there's no business case for Apple to do the same, because Apple makes money from hardware and services and neither one of those benefits from building a single monolithic app.
And such app can be a great service, attracting new users. WeChat is not just an app, it provides users with a lot of services. Apple already has many pieces in place but separated into different apps.

You don't have to move everything into a single app and kill the others, but just integrate it tightly in one app. That's what users like, it's convenient. If not for the world domination, then just for the better user experience.
 

apple_unreal

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Jun 15, 2020
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When you grow up one of the things you learn is to choose your own battles. Another one is: by losing you win. Just leave Facebook alone, you can not do anything about it, just back up and let it fall itself. You will win by spending time in your own things, one day you will have what you wanted and you will see FB closing.
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,576
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In a van down by the river
Unfortunately, Facebook can and does collect data about people who are not using its services. That is something I detest and more needs to be done about it.


I guess when it comes to business it is all a matter of interests. If we vote with our money and do business with corporations that align with certain values (e.g. respect for privacy), collectively that might have an effect.
I too detest how Facebook (and Google) seek users and non users alike. That is why I use apps like “Lockdown,” to block Facebook and Google’s tracking.
 

AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,677
The Peninsula
I too detest how Facebook (and Google) seek users and non users alike. That is why I use apps like “Lockdown,” to block Facebook and Google’s tracking.
...or switch to Brave - a privacy respecting browser.

 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
...or switch to Brave - a privacy respecting browser.

Wasn't there something about Brave doing something misleading at one point, despite positioning themselves as they did/do?
 

960design

macrumors 68040
Apr 17, 2012
3,794
1,670
Destin, FL
What would it take for Apple to completely Sherlock Facebook?
Investing trillions in education.
7.8 billion people on planet.
4.5 billion have internet.
2.5 billion have active facebook account ( or about 55% ).

55% of the world has 102 or less IQ
Coincidence?

PS. All tongue in cheek.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Investing trillions in education.
7.8 billion people on planet.
4.5 billion have internet.
2.5 billion have active facebook account ( or about 55% ).

55% of the world has 102 or less IQ
Coincidence?

PS. All tongue in cheek.
2.5 billion out of 7.8 billion doesn't seem to be 55% of the world. (Not quite sure where IQ, or that particular IQ, fits into it all.)

Something to keep in mind is that a large number of those accounts don't represent actual people either.

That said, with it all being tongue in cheek, it's kind of moot.
 

1226670

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Jul 27, 2020
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Facebook has grown very problematic in recent years, having gone from a benign friends aggregator to a monolith literally capable of destroying democracy as we know it. My intention for this thread isn't to politicize the topic. After all, whether you're conservative or liberal, we all value democracy. Instead, let's focus on what Apple can do to start replacing core features that Facebook offers. If any app ever deserved to be Sherlocked, it's Facebook.

I'm not suggesting that Apple become Facebook but social features are already all over iOS. iMessage is its own social network in of itself. Photos allows you to share albums with friends who can like and comment on your photos. iMusic allows you to follow friends and their musical tastes.

We're already seeing Apple hurting Facebook, whether deliberately or as a side effect. First, Safari privacy features that prevent cross website tracking, hits at the heart of Facebook and Google's entire business plan. Sign In With Apple hits Facebook directly, giving users a way to sign in to websites, bypassing Facebook's popular sign in and denying Zuckerberg's company the ability to track users across the web — another major revenue source for the social network.

The Photos app has the potential to replace the reason why people use Facebook. Everyone on iOS already uses the Photos app. Alongside the camera app, it's probably the most used app on iOS. Photos added friends sharing features that use machine learning to determine when friends were in the same place at the same time, taking pictures of what looks to be the same event, then suggesting everyone share these photos with each other with a single button that creates a shared album. If this becomes widespread, there will be fewer reasons to share photo albums on a social network.

But the central place for a social experience built into iOS is iMessage. What's missing is a profile page that iMessage users could set up that would aggregate their shared Photo albums, Apple Music playlists, liked Apple News articles, viewed AppleTV+ shows.

To me, it seems that Apple has been gradually implementing social features, not in an Apple Social Network app, but deeply integrated into the iOS itself and across Apple's apps. What would it take for Apple to completely Sherlock Facebook?


I laughed reading your post.

Maybe you are from North America so you think that Apple can "Kill" Facebook. But if you go outside your country you will realise that theres a whole new world of 7 billion people with maybe half of them having a smartphone of some sort and they all use Facebook. Apple has a very limited reach globally due to price.

I laugh when a North American has a very myopic view of world and they think that the entire world is like them where everyone is using iMessage or Apple Devices.

Everyone outside North America is using FB/Instagram/Whatsapp all of which are owned by Facebook.
iMessage is alien to people outside of North America even if they have iPhone.
 
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1226670

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Then there is this.

View attachment 924644

Apple intercepted Facebook trying to track me on an unrelated website (WestJet) and gave me an opt out.

This is the kind of stuff we’ve been seeing Apple do more of lately. And even though Apple users aren’t the majority of smartphone users worldwide, losing all iOS and Mac users — which have been statistically shown to be those with higher spending potential and thus more attractive to advertisers — losing those users is bound to have a severe effect on Facebook’s business model and consequently their revenue.

You are misinformed here.

Its not that Facebook is tracking you out of the blue. Westjet would have made a deal with Facebook to track and analyse your behaviour using Facebook analytics.
You should be really blaming westjet here that inspite of you paying for your ticket they still decided to ask Facebook to track you and earn from you. [I am assuming westjet is a flight booking site].

Facebook/ Google get a very bad name that they are tracking users. Yeah they are tracking you. But its the sites which you are visiting who have made deals with FB/ Google to track you and show you relevant advertisement to earn money from your views.

Are you ready to pay for every single free website you visit ? Because they have to get money from somewhere and that somewhere is advertising. So every single site which is free uses some sort of tracking generally google or Facebook to track you and show you advertisement.

You have few options -
1. Stop visiting free sites if you are afraid of being tracked.
2. If enough people are ready to pay for browsing internet maybe in future we will have an option of paying to visit every site so that they wont track you or show you advertisement.

Until then theres no free lunch. If you are using a free service you have to pay in someway. And that someway is advertising and tracking.

And for all of those "privacy advocates" out there they should really just stop using a free service/website.
if you are using a free service and and not paying in any way thats just pure stealing.
If your privacy is so much worth it just stop using all the free services.
Its just poor taste to use them and then rant about how xyz company is tracking you, showing advertisement etc etc
 
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Puonti

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2011
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Everyone outside North America is using FB/Instagram/Whatsapp all of which are owned by Facebook.
iMessage is alien to people outside of North America even if they have iPhone.

I'm outside of NA but none of this applies to me. I happen to value my privacy.
 
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1226670

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I'm outside of NA but none of this applies to me. I happen to value my privacy.

You aren't one of the 2.5 billion users who use Facebook or 2 billion users who use Whatsapp.

Happy that you value your privacy.
I hope you don't visit any free websites or use any free apps [including macrumors] as by doing that you would be compromising your privacy in some way or others.

As you value your privacy so much I am also assuming -
You don't have any free apps on your phone.​
You use a paid email service.​
You don't use google maps or google search or youtube​
Or for that matter you don't read any free articles on web. You don't reference anything on web for your work.​
Also your ISP does not log your history and you are 100% sure about it. And in case if you are using VPN then you are 100% sure that VPN provider does not log your history.​

If you do all of the above then congratulations You do value your "Privacy". If you don't and still think that you value your privacy I am sorry to say you have a very misplaced idea of privacy on internet.



But in case if you want to know why privacy on internet is a myth. You should just use any tool to analyse traffic from your computer to internet.

You will be shocked to see the number of analytics/ ads/ tracking sites which is contacted for each single web page which you open without you knowing anything.
 
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Puonti

macrumors 68000
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Everyone outside North America is using FB/Instagram/Whatsapp...

You aren't one of the 2.5 billion users who use Facebook or 2 billion users who use Whatsapp.

You seem prone to hyperbole.

I hope you don't visit any free websites or use any free apps [including macrumors] as by doing that you would be compromising your privacy in some way or others.

Do you value your health? Do you do anything in life that goes against it? Do you value your parents? Do you ever say "no" to them? Do you both invest / put money aside and spend it on things that aren't exactly critical?

There's nuance in these things but you try so very hard to make a point by assuming there isn't any. Just look at the rest of your two-tone post.
 

1226670

Suspended
Jul 27, 2020
16
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You seem prone to hyperbole.



Do you value your health? Do you do anything in life that goes against it? Do you value your parents? Do you ever say "no" to them? Do you both invest / put money aside and spend it on things that aren't exactly critical?

There's nuance in these things but you try so very hard to make a point by assuming there isn't any. Just look at the rest of your two-tone post.

All the things i mentioned violate your privacy. Some of them very seriously like tracking by ISP or VPN. Which is more common than you think. In US ISPs are even allowed to sell that data as far as i remember.

May you please enlighten about nuances where you consider your privacy is breached vs where it is not ?
 
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960design

macrumors 68040
Apr 17, 2012
3,794
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Destin, FL
2.5 billion out of 7.8 billion doesn't seem to be 55% of the world. (Not quite sure where IQ, or that particular IQ, fits into it all.)
2.5 billion of the world with internet.
Not sure how to access Facebook without internet... I bet Facebook is working on it though.

Something to keep in mind is that a large number of those accounts don't represent actual people either.
Monthly active accounts is the best I can do.
Do you have statistics relating to 'large number of those accounts' you would care to post?
That said, with it all being tongue in cheek, it's kind of moot.
Too true
[automerge]1596028740[/automerge]
 

Puonti

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2011
1,567
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May you please enlighten about nuances where you consider your privacy is breached vs where it is not ?

That's not the nuance I'm talking about, though. When talking about the internet, valuing privacy doesn't mean no one must know anything about me. That's an aspect you're trying to shoehorn into this conversation for some reason.

For the topic I'm talking about, though, here's the nuance I refer to:

Let's say you're on the internet. Whatever information is revealed by your browser, operating system, internet connection and behavior is collected by the sites you visit because this is how the internet is. You can watch videos on Youtube and search the web through DuckDuckGo without an account. You get some use out of the internet in exchange for connection fees and the information you leak.

Now let's say you register a Google account with the intent of using Gmail, Google Search and getting a better Youtube experience. Suddenly you're allowing Google to scrape your email and more tightly profile your interests, among other things. Compared to how it was before your privacy is more limited.

You add a Facebook account. Your social connections are mapped, your messages scraped, your interests scrutinized and more. Compared to before your privacy is once again cut down.

Add Amazon, Fitbit, Uber, your favorite grocery chain, rental companies, utilities... there can be a surprising number of accounts tied to you. Not all of them are necessary. None of them need to be told everything about you.

That's where the nuance comes from. You use the internet understanding that there are some choices you can make to either improve or diminish your privacy. There's going to be records of your activity either way, but you have some control over how extensive and personal the information they contain is.

Visiting a store, your likeness and movement are recorded on cameras. But the cameras don't know your mother's maiden name unless you hold up a sign stating as much.

Going by the angle I see you pushing you could claim my privacy was breached because I was caught on camera. I say it's the information cost of doing business even if I pay cash. I just don't go waving all the signs at all of them everywhere.
 
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