Hacker News Reader

Comment by Handprint4469 | Hacker News Reader

> These are not ads, rather something that is generated natively by the platform, not leading anywhere else but the platform that the user is already on

So if Instagram shows you ads about Meta AI, it doesn't count as ads because both are owned by Meta?

View on HN

Yes, in my mind, just saying "ads" are more for like Nike or Hyundai, than for a service provider upselling its own products. But this point is technically valid, these are advertisements as well. Just not what I, or others, first think of when they read "Instagram is using my face on ads".

If you go into a Hyundai dealer and see a big banner about their new financing plan, isn’t that an ad?

If the Nike catalog includes a full page promo for nike.com, isn’t that an ad?

Yes, it's an ad.

My point is, and I even edited the original comment so that it comes across better: "ads on instagram" implies third party ads much more, than fist party upsells. Another example is "Ads in Windows". The popup for OneDrive is much less egregious than Candy Crush, or tabloid news in the Start Menu. This is because, while the user asked for neither, some consent was already given for the first party, while no consent was given to the third party.

But Meta AI is not Instagram, so it’s not even first party?

The user gave their picture to Meta AI in Instagram previously, and Meta AI and Instagram have the same parent company, and the user also encountered the advertisement on Instagram. This is as first party as it gets, in my Hacker News submissions. Maybe not in legal language.

You rewrote your comment not to come across better but to make a different point.

Your point was that this wasn’t an ad. Your point now is that you personally feel “ad” doesn’t typically mean first party ads.

The former is wrong, the latter an opinion.

What you call an opinion is not my original point, and even if so, I don't understand what you are trying to say. Shouldn't I have expressed an opinion here?

Editing a comment so substantially that your thesis changes makes you look deeply disingenuous.

Thank you for your feedback. I'll strive to come across better the first time in the future.

I’ve come down this far and can co-sign this comment. Holy canoli.

I really don't see a difference between upsell and 3rd party ads. I stopped using Evernote (was a paying subscriber) because I got annoyed by constantly having ads for their other services shoved in my face.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com