Apple and CEO Tim Cook last year took the momentous step of allowing users to block advertising companies from tracking their app use, a technique used for ad targeting. Apple marketed the change as a win for user privacy—and users appear to agree, with most opting out. Many antisurveillance activists welcomed the development, but others noted that it underlined Apple’s huge power. And in earnings calls after the changes, ad-dependent tech giants like Meta and Snap blamed Apple’s move for “headwinds” that resulted in tens of billions of dollars in losses.
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