Apple dropped the latest update
to their iPhone operating system,
and it has all sorts of new features.
You know, you can now use the phone
with a video game controller,
you can design your own app icons,
and there are four new voice options for Siri,
including two Black voices, which means
millions of people are about to have their first Black friends.
So exciting!
But the big update that everyone was talking about
has to do with privacy, and it's the subject
of our latest episode of "If You Don't Know, Now You Know."
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What is one of the biggest concerns people have
about modern technology?
Privacy. Right?
Because our phones know everything about us.
What music we listen to. How much sleep we get.
What our face looks like when we're pooping.
But now Apple is going to give you a little more control
over how widely that information is shared.
You know how it goes-- you search for something online,
then see an ad on Facebook or Instagram
for that exact item.
Well, Apple is making it harder for apps
to track your online activity.
When you're using apps on your iPhone,
you may start to see this.
Apple users must now give permission
for apps to track your online activity data.
Before, you could only opt out.
-It's about time. -Gennie Gebhart
is with the privacy nonprofit,
the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Switching from "opt out" to "opt in" is huge.
That is what's going to really make a lot more users opt out
of this tracking feature-- that wasn't built was users,
it was built for advertisers.
That's right, people. With the new iOS update,
you have to opt in to being tracked online
instead of having to opt out.
And I know it might seem like a small change,
but this is a huge deal.
Because people are lazy as shit.
Like, think about it. If Apple said
that they were gonna put all your nudes online
unless you opted out, you'd probably be like,
"What?! No way! Wah! Where's that "opt out" option?
"Aah. Settings. General. Uh...
"Well, you know what, I'm proud of my third nipple.
"Let's just do this. I don't care anymore.
I got things to do."
And people don't understand how much information
Facebook is actually getting from your other apps.
Like, you think it's a small thing.
You know how you always lie to your friends?
"Oh, I was talking about something,
and then it popped up-- is my phone listening to me?"
No, it's the apps. Like, if you're in Atlanta,
and you check the weather in Vermont,
it won't wait for you to search for a winter coat
before it starts showing you ads for one.
And if you've ben ordering pizza every night on Grubhub,
well, then the ads will show you a coat that's two sizes up,
because it knows.
So, this new privacy feature is good news for iPhone users.
But it turns out it's very bad news
for one of Apple's biggest rivals, Facebook.
In fact, it's so bad for them
that they've started throwing up pop-ups
begging everyone to let them keep tracking us,
and warning us that if we don't, Facebook might stop being...
free of charge.
And I'm not gonna lie, people,
that seems like an empty threat to me.
Because who would pay to be on Facebook
with the type of people willing to pay to be on Facebook?
I mean, that's like if a crack house had a cover charge.
I actually wouldn't mind
if Facebook starting charging people,
because I think if they did,
maybe people would actually think for a second
before they posted.
The government puts fluoride in the water to brainwash us!
Post!
Two dollars?
I'll keep it to myself.
Now, the reason Facebook needs to track its users
is so that it can charge big bucks
to advertisers who want to target very specific audiences.
But Mark Zuckerberg knows that people don’t care
if he can't afford to give his hovercraft
a Lamborghini for its birthday, so instead, he's asking you
to think about the poor companies that'll suffer
if he can't track you.
NEWSWOMAN: Facebook said Apple's move will harm
their small business advertisers.
It's gonna kill us. It's gonna kill us.
NEWSWOMAN: But for Monique Wilsondebriano,
who was featured in a Facebook campaign
and owns Charleston Gourmet Burger,
the change has already affected sales
and she's had to cut costs.
It's not about, you know, small businesses,
you know, wanting to take away anyone's privacy.
All we want to do is really to service our customers better.
So if someone loves hamburgers,
and they're looking for something
that is just awesome, you know,
to make good hamburgers taste better,
I would like to show my ad to you,
and this update takes that away from small businesses like mine.
Okay, now, this is interesting.
I mean, I don't like getting tracked,
but it is true that it does help some small businesses
target their ads, you know?
And the truth is, in life,
bad things can have good side effects.
You know? It's like how serial killers are bad--
we all agree that they're bad--
but... you do get
a lot of really interesting podcasts out of them.
Yeah?
No.
So I can see what Facebook is trying to argue here.
They're saying: Do you really want to hurt small businesses
before Amazon has a chance to bankrupt them?
And honestly, I wouldn't mind targeted ads that much,
but the thing is, it's how--
it is how Facebook tracks all of us that I don’t like.
Like, it would be one thing if Facebook asked me:
Hey, Trevor, do you like hamburgers?
Ah, we're gonna show you stuff about food.
But what Facebook actually does
is basically just send some guy named Gary
to just stalk my entire life.
Hey, Trevor.
I heard you like hamburgers.
What? How did you know that?
Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.
I read an a-mail you sent to your girlfriend.
Hee-hee-hee. Hee.
So maybe you're still not swayed by the effect
of this change on small businesses.
And that's why Facebook is also warning
of the bleak future that awaits all of us
if they can't track our every movement anymore.
NEWSWOMAN: Facebook's pushing back.
It relies on that data to target consumers
with relevant ads.
So if people do opt out, here's what Facebook says could happen.
Say a young man is looking for a new pair of sneakers
on his phone.
Facebook claims that, with Apple's new rules,
it won't be able to use his search history information
about what other apps he uses to show him ads
for things he wants to buy.
So on Facebook or Instagram, he could end up seeing ads
for women's clothing or furniture.
Really? This is a real argument?
Come on, man, get the (bleep) out of here, guys.
We've lived our entire lives watching untargeted ads.
Right? TV ads, newspaper ads, billboards--
none of those were targeted, and we were fine.
Right? Now, all of a sudden, they're making it seem like
we can't live without them.
Like we're gonna be like, "Oh, no,
"oh, no, I'll have to watch untargeted ads?
"But how will I know if a product isn't for me?
"What if I buy tampons
"because I didn't know that I don't have a period?
"What if I buy dog food but I don't have a dog?
"Am I a dog? Am I dog wants tampons?
I don't know!"
We can handle untargeted ads.
In fact, sometimes untargeted ads introduce you to things
that you never knew you needed.
Yeah. Like a shower seat.
I didn't think about that before I came to America.
And then now that I'm here I realize--
just because I'm not 80
doesn't mean I can't get clean and comfortable.
And, you know, on top of all that,
Facebook makes it seem, they make it seem like
all they use that data for
is to sell us the products that we want.
But don't forget that the reason you often only see posts
that make you mad as hell
is because of all the time Facebook is tracking you.
And they use that targeting to piss you off.
It's not a coincidence that Facebook is always telling you
that Joe Biden is gonna make the Bible Spanish only,
or that Trump stole all the mailboxes
to give to Kim Jong-un.
It's because they know how to keep you engaged
for as long as possible,
and they know this by tracking you.
And again, I'm not pro-Apple here, all right?
But Apple didn't build their entire business model
on stalking you.
Facebook did.
And if moving society away from tracking people
means that Gary has to find a new job,
then you know what, so be it.
But then, Trev, who will recommend creams
for your toenail fungus?
Get the (bleep) out of here, Gary!