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tim0901 t1_j8z7ug4 wrote

Reply to comment by WOTDisLanguish in Exclusive: Tencent scraps plans for VR hardware as metaverse bet falters by BlueLightStruct

You can get a lot more data from a Quest headset than you can from a Facebook account. Some highlights of what's collected according to the Quest's privacy policy:

  • Physical details of the user eg height, head and hand dimensions
  • Fitness data
  • Eye tracking data (not "raw" data - only processed...)
  • User facial expressions (again only "processed")
  • Environmental information & dimensions (aka. details of the room you use it in)

And it's not about an individual's data being valuable - it's not like Facebook lets you buy access to an individual's data set anyway - it's about what you can do when you have access to millions of individuals' data. Facebook made $113B in advertising income in 2022, or ~$39 per user they have on their platform. Having access to more data like that collected by the Quest means they can more accurately target ads to these users, which of course they can then offer to advertisers for even more money.

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alternate_me t1_j91ldg9 wrote

These things the quest 2 “collects” are just used to run VR, you’re not getting targeted ads based on it.

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tim0901 t1_j92ru1a wrote

They state that they use this information for marketing purposes in that same privacy policy. You are definitely getting targeted ads based on it.

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alternate_me t1_j93nmus wrote

Try making a Facebook ad and tell me what setting let’s you target based on face tracking data

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_WhatchaDoin_ t1_j9565pz wrote

People have no idea what ad tracking means. lol

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To be comfortable, and feel that VR looks real you need actual measurement, and then people think that if you are 5ft you will get an ad for a pasta maker, and if you are 6ft you will get an ad for a vacuum cleaner.

So much lack of critical thinking. Reddit is not better than other social networks (audience think they are somehow smarter).

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And yes, you are right, there is no private information as targeting for an ad. Overall, it is pretty generic and based on interests, locations, people with similar behaviors.

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alternate_me t1_j963g1k wrote

Thank you for backing me up here. I go insane on Reddit trying to explain the ad world. People are convinced of the most crazy conspiracies

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tim0901 t1_j96plj8 wrote

Face tracking and eye tracking allows them to determine your point of focus on screen (known as "gaze tracking") as well as how you are reacting to what you're seeing via mood/emotion etc. In the context of the Quest, this gives them a metric of how much you're enjoying certain games, which would allow them to give you more accurate recommendations (ads) for new ones that you might like to buy. Height data can be used to target kids with a very high degree of accuracy, even if they aren't using their own account. It's not about selling these individual pieces of data, it's about more accurately sorting you into the demographics that they allow advertisers to choose from (and potentially open up new ones). Because accuracy sells - if your ad company gets the reputation of being inaccurate, you will lose customers.

It also gives them information on how much you're paying attention to the advertisements you're being shown. One of the big questions in advertising is always "how do consumers respond to our adverts" - how long are they looking at the ad etc. Gaze tracking gives them that information, and has been an area of research in the advertising field for many years. If you're someone who pays more attention to adverts, then you're a more valuable target for advertisers, especially if they are able to make the link between you seeing an advert and a purchase being made. Or if you're someone who doesn't particularly pay attention to static ads, but will pay attention to a video ad, Meta can use that information to tailor what ads you get served. Conversely, if more people than normal are not paying attention to a particular ad, then Meta can more accurately report to the advertiser that their ad is performing poorly, likely far sooner than with other metrics.

So by doing this, Facebook/Meta has improved on two of the core parts of advertising: accuracy and retention. If you are able to boast to advertisers that you can target certain demographics with a higher degree of accuracy, then not only will more advertisers be interested in your services, but you are also able to charge them more money for that luxury. Similarly, being able to boast a higher viewer retention is of great value to advertisers, especially if this can be linked to higher sales, as is more accurate information on how ad campaigns are being recieved.

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