Privacy News Perplexity CEO says its browser will track everything users do online to sell ‘hyper personalized’ ads

Gandalf_The_Grey

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Perplexity doesn’t just want to compete with Google, it apparently wants to be Google.

CEO Aravind Srinivas said this week on the TBPN podcast that one reason Perplexity is building its own browser is to collect data on everything users do outside of its own app. This so it can sell premium ads.

“That’s kind of one of the other reasons we wanted to build a browser, is we want to get data even outside the app to better understand you,” Srinivas said. “Because some of the prompts that people do in these AIs is purely work-related. It’s not like that’s personal.”

And work-related queries won’t help the AI company build an accurate-enough dossier.

“On the other hand, what are the things you’re buying; which hotels are you going [to]; which restaurants are you going to; what are you spending time browsing, tells us so much more about you,” he explained.

Srinivas believes that Perplexity’s browser users will be fine with such tracking because the ads should be more relevant to them.
 

TairikuOkami

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I honestly do not understand, what people hate? I buy supplements, FB shows me ads for supplements, that I would have never found and I buy them afterwards. It is a win-win situation.

Would gamers prefer to be shown ads with recipes or with games? People seem to hate ads for some reason, yet when they see the latest pizza on TV, they order it ASAP. Targeted ads are great.
 
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Jonny Quest

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I honestly do not understand, what people hate? I buy supplements, FB shows me ads for supplements, that I would have never found and I buy them afterwards. It is a win-win situation.

Would gamers prefer to be shown ads with recipes or with games? People seem to hate ads for some reason, yet when they see the latest pizza on TV, they order it ASAP. Targeted ads are great.
I guess we've (some) have just been so condition that any add is an affront to us and our webpage viewing. But you're right, we do learn about some products through ads, as well as on TV. Thank goodness online ads aren't as bad as the TV ones, where this new drug that is going to help with your affliction could also have the side effect of tremors, liver damage, a stroke, death...etc. Suddenly, webpage ads and in doing my own follow up research, doesn't seem so bad :)
 
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Digmor Crusher

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I honestly do not understand, what people hate? I buy supplements, FB shows me ads for supplements, that I would have never found and I buy them afterwards. It is a win-win situation.

Would gamers prefer to be shown ads with recipes or with games? People seem to hate ads for some reason, yet when they see the latest pizza on TV, they order it ASAP. Targeted ads are great.
I don't use FB or any social media, I do not want to see any ads of any kind anywhere and I don't want a company invading my privacy and tracking everything I do. But that's just me. ;)
 

Marko :)

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I honestly do not understand, what people hate? I buy supplements, FB shows me ads for supplements, that I would have never found and I buy them afterwards. It is a win-win situation.

Would gamers prefer to be shown ads with recipes or with games? People seem to hate ads for some reason, yet when they see the latest pizza on TV, they order it ASAP. Targeted ads are great.
I just hate to see ads everywhere. Even when watching TV and commercials start, I just switch to another TV channel that doesn't have commercials. Or mute TV and browse the web on my phone until commercials stop. If I had ability to block ads directly in my eyes, I would to stop seeing ads outside. Since I can't I just tend to ignore them.
I don't use FB or any social media, I do not want to see any ads of any kind anywhere and I don't want a company invading my privacy and tracking everything I do. But that's just me. ;)
Same here. The only goal of these ads isn't to sell you something; their sole purpose is to invade your privacy and sell data they collected about you to 3rd parties. The "relevant" ads are here just so they can say "we give you something in return". I personally find that unacceptable.
 

Jonny Quest

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I don't use FB or any social media, I do not want to see any ads of any kind anywhere and I don't want a company invading my privacy and tracking everything I do. But that's just me. ;)
It had been so long since I had been on Facebook that they wanted me to confirm my identify by submitting a photo of both sides of my drivers license, or a Passport photo, or about 2 other obnoxiously invasive forms of identity verification. That is not going to happen, even though you can supposedly delete it? once you're confirmed and logged in.
 

Marko :)

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It had been so long since I had been on Facebook that they wanted me to confirm my identify by submitting a photo of both sides of my drivers license, or a Passport photo, or about 2 other obnoxiously invasive forms of identity verification. That is not going to happen, even though you can supposedly delete it? once you're confirmed and logged in.
yah, riggghhttttt
I registered to Instagram once just to see what's the fuss about (as pretty much all my friends and acquaintances have it). So... just finished the registration process and entered the homepage which recommended me to follow some profiles. It didn't take five seconds before I was greeted with an error message asking me to refresh the page. After refresh, I immediately got the message my account was suspended for violating terms of use and asked me to verify my profile. Sure... it happens.

First asked me for my e-mail address (reasonable), my phone number (reasonable, though I didn't give it; instead used those online SMS verification sites), but when it asked for my photo, photo of ID and short video this is where they crossed the line and where they lost me as a user forever.

And I wasn't the only one. My colleague from work did the same; she never had Instagram, registered to follow her friends and was immediately suspended. She lost the desire to join the social network as she felt like she was opening a bank account and not a social media one.
 

TairikuOkami

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I do not want to see any ads of any kind anywhere
Well then you have to pay for it, free is not free. Free services still have to pay to stay alive and ads are not that intrusive, compared to tracking.

A local ad for a local honey. Hardly invasive. I did not even know, it existed. I prefer local and BIO products and FB knows that.

capture_04252025_221814.jpg

I don't use FB
FB is great for local groups, news, market, something you will not find anywhere else. It is not ideal, but it works. Cops have recently shared a raid on local gangsters.

I just hate to see ads everywhere. Even when watching TV and commercials start, I just switch to another TV channel that doesn't have commercials.
I have not watched TV in a decade or so I can not even imagine what it is like now. :)
 
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SeriousHoax

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If I had ability to block ads directly in my eyes, I would to stop seeing ads outside. Since I can't I just tend to ignore them.
This product already exists. How did you not know this? 🙀 Here, go order one today and cure your eyes of ads 😍
 

Digmor Crusher

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Well then you have to pay for it, free is not free. Free services still have to pay to stay alive and ads are not that intrusive, compared to tracking.
I do not mind paying a small sum to get rid of ads.

I watch over 150 hockey games a year, I PVR everyone of them and start watching an hour later, this way I can fast forward thru every commercial.
 

Jonny Quest

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Ovechkin, amazing :) Not a big hockey fan, but the Stanley Cup playoffs is some of the best hockey anyone could watch. It's more of a "who can endure to the end" with that brutal, last team standing schedule.

This isn't to bad either.
What are you Browsing Now?
 
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