Facebook Messenger Globally Tests Injecting Display Ads Into Inbox (techcrunch.com) 71
From a TechCrunch report: Messaging is the center of mobile, and Facebook wants ads in front of all those eyes. After seeing "promising results from Australia and Thailand," Facebook Messenger is expanding its display ad beta test that lets businesses buy space between your chat threads. Later this month, a small percentage of users will start seeing ads in the Messenger app's home tab. Facebook tells TechCrunch that where these ads appear in the inbox "depends on how many threads a user has, the size of their phone's physical screen and the pixel density of the display." Over the next month, Facebook will gradually roll out Messenger ads to all advertisers globally. They'll have the ability to buy through the Ads Manager or Power Editor, with Messenger becoming one of the automatic placements for Facebook ads alongside the main Facebook app, Instagram and the Audience Network of other apps and sites. Ads aren't targeted by what people write in messages, and instead use the same Facebook targeting, measurement tools and minimum 50 percent pixels in view standard for viewability.
Can't wait for (Score:2)
Great. (Score:5, Interesting)
I just don't get enough of those co-dependent, needy messages from Facebook already. I rarely get on to Facebook, because while I consider it somewhat useful, there is also a lot of noise. I don't care that my second cousin Betty just posted a picture. I do care that my uncle Albert has a birthday today. I scan it once a week or so to keep up to date.
Unfortunately, Facebook seems to be "all or nothing" in the way it feeds news.
I get that they have to make money, but filling my inbox with spam, and texting me as if something meaningful has been sent is pretty damn disgusting as a tactic.
Use Facebook Blocker. (Score:2)
Google, Apple, and Facebook and their customers will keep increasing the abuse, apparently. Abusing other people is personally damaging, but the managers of those companies apparently don't have the social understanding to realize that.
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You don't need a facebook blocker...that only solved part of the facebook issue. You need Privacy Badger (blocks facebook, twitter and the rest of them) + uBlock Origin.
It does not hurt to always brows in private mode in Firefox. Sure Chrome might be a better browser but it also tells google everything you go and that displays custom ads and shopping results tailored to you...
If you value your privacy do not stop just at the application level. Get to the OS AND hardware level if possible. An OS that res
Re:Block FB by IP address (Score:2)
Block input and out from and to the following CIDRs. The one that affects you will depend on what country you're in.
31.13.24.0/21
31.13.64.0/18
66.220.144.0/20
69.63.176.0/20
69.171.224.0/19
74.119.76.0/22
103.4.96.0/22
173.252.64.0/18
204.15.20.0/22
telephone sanitizers report to the "B" ark (Score:2)
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Anyone still on Facebook is a loser.
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I just don't get enough of those co-dependent, needy messages from Facebook already. I rarely get on to Facebook, because while I consider it somewhat useful, there is also a lot of noise. I don't care that my second cousin Betty just posted a picture. I do care that my uncle Albert has a birthday today. I scan it once a week or so to keep up to date.
I use facebook daily... but it's never to communicate with people. It's almost always to look at meme's or car pictures or whatever I find funny. When they uncoupled messenger and made it a separate app, that's when I stopped using it.
If porn sites advertise themselves as the "facebook of sex", then Facebook must be the "1 cup and 2 girls of personal communication".
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Alabama.
Messenger- why? (Score:2)
Tell me again why I need to install a dedicated Facebook app to send messages?
If I want to text someone, I'll send a text. If they insist on using FB messages, I'll use the desktop web site (on my phone) to read it.
This was a bad idea for users from day 1, and I will not be a part of it. Bring on the good technology in its place.
Re:Messenger- why? (Score:4, Insightful)
They've made it increasingly hard on mobile to read messenger messages without the dumb app. I don't get very many and I usually just delete them and contact the person in another medium. The people who insist on using it, I just delete their messages and when they get annoyed about why I'm not responding them I tell them I don't use it.
I don't actually understand why it has to be a separate app, probably just another part of the global domination game I guess.
Who are you? (Score:1)
From the attacker's point of view, it's best to specify "use this app" because you can have the app do whatever you want (such as show ads to your adversary).
From the defender's point of view, it's best of specify "use this open protocol" because then the user is in control of what the app does (such as abstain from showing ads to you).
Are you Facebook? Then you should be telling p
Re:Messenger- why? (Score:5, Funny)
Facebook is desperately trying to become the next AOL.
I am hoping they succeed by skipping straight to the end of AOL's life.
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I am hoping they succeed by skipping straight to the EOL of AOL.
FTFY.
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thanks
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Tell me again why I need to install a dedicated Facebook app to send messages?
That's pretty simple: to lock you into Facebook's platform, and allow Facebook to log all your messages. That's not so easy if you use SMS. Why are you trying to keep secrets from Facebook? What do you have to hide?
This was a bad idea for users from day 1
Since when are the users' needs and desires important? This is good for Facebook, and that's all that matters.
and I will not be a part of it.
Then you're going to be relegated
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Leela: Didn't you have ads in the 21st century?"
Fry: Well sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio, and in magazines, and movies, and at ball games... and on buses and milk cartons and t-shirts, and bananas and written on the sky. But not in dreams, no siree.
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I pasted it from IMDB, so I blame them for getting the quote wrong. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt05... [imdb.com]
I can quit Facebook anytime I want (Score:3)
Drug addicts say this all the time, so it must be true.
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Drug addicts say this all the time, so it must be true.
Drug addicts can change which dealer they get the drugs from if they feel like they are being ripped off.
There are SO many options for chat and messaging, facebook is just one. And the others don't tend to do ads like this.
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I'll stick to MMORPGs, I prefer to pay for my addictions the old-fashioned way.
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Of course, it may just mean Facebook has already locked in the whole planet and so things like this are their only option for further revenue growth.
Fifteen Million Merits (Score:2)
The Solution is.... (Score:1)
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People got stupid and moved to Telegram.
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+1 for FB Purity! Another nice feature is the blocking of key words. Type in "Jayden K Smith" and every post containing that phrase disappeared. Rather nice.
What would happen if phone companies did this? (Score:3)
Like, in the middle of while you were talking to somebody, you suddenly needed to listen to 15 to 30 second advertisement trying to sell you on getting new auto insurance or buying coca-cola?
This poses no less of a problem.
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Okay... bad example.
And Skype did the same thing with Skype-to-Skype calls IIRC.
But y'know, it's not like they don't plaster their service with ads already... why interfere with basic communication?
If ICQ had done something like this back when it was being the big deal that it was, I doubt that instant messengers ever would have become popular at all - they would have been seen as just another avenue for unwanted spam.
On mobile use mobile website, no apps (Score:2)
First I tried tweaking the fb app and Messager app to tweak down tracking and auto-play videos etc. And each time there was some sort of fb privacy tracking story I would get a bit more paranoid. I deleted the Messages app. Later a deleted the regular Facebook app. My general feeling is that I am tracked less and have more privacy although I don't specifically know what. I do slightly miss more active notifications of Facebook activity.
Facebook is like one of those people at a party who greets you with
Premium service (Score:5, Insightful)
Exceeds Your Mobile Plan Data Cap? (Score:4, Insightful)
When Apple launched the iCloud, customers found their data caps exceeded because iOS was shoving high density data (photos, movies, etc) between other iOS and OSX devices WITHOUT TELLING THE USER.
Not that I'm worried - I refuse to install any social media app on my mobile device. They gobble up battery juice and data bandwidth. WOMBAT (Waste Of Money, Brains, And Talent).
Adblock for Messenger? (Score:2)
It's that or I just delete Messenger.
Hope they won't fuck up Whatsapp next (Score:2)
Even before this, they have basically killed Messenger for me. I can no longer find an option to archive a conversation on the mobile app and it's filled with useless shit that automatically reappears some time after you close it. Apparently there is an official "Messenger Lite", but thats only officially available to budget Android users, not flagship Android or iOS. It's reached the point where I've basically given up on Messenger because it's just frustrating. Hope they won't "improve" Whatsapp in a simi