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by haram_masala 1858 days ago
True, it’s very difficult to see what iOS apps and iOS itself are doing. And we can assume that third-party apps are collecting whatever info they can - even after 14.5, when they presumably disclose what they’re collecting.

But, can’t we infer from Apple’s earning statements how much they’re monetizing user data? Currently that seems like not much. Then again, they probably wouldn’t have recruited Antonio Garcia if they weren’t interested in milking that particular cow.

2 comments

The Journal says Apple’s ads business is estimated at $2 billion currently (but this isn’t reported in their financial statements): https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-privacy-changes-are-pois...

Apple’s services category made $16 billion in revenue last quarter and includes ads in addition to other businesses like music and TV. Apple’s growth story to investors hinges on the services category.

>But, can’t we infer from Apple’s earning statements how much they’re monetizing user data? Currently that seems like not much.

That only tells you how they're doing competing against the other ad networks, not how much they're trying to monetize the data. Instead since they couldn't compete, they drew a moat around their devices where other companies can't get the data apple can, now.