• operator@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Yes and no. Without a users video history (& other tracking turned off) best they can do is push random ads hoping it would hit one in a million. That is not effective and sometimes even diseffective (hitting a controversially opposite target). Tha harms YouTube on both ends more than the ad’s company

      By pushing users to turn it on they apparently gain more than just pushing random horse crap.

      • MysticKetchup@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        There’s not really much evidence that targeted ads work any better than random ads. Plus they already have a point of data to serve ads: what video the user is watching.

      • OtakuAltair@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Honestly this is making me want to turn mine off, but having a watch history is very convenient

        • EddyBot@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          alternative youtube frontends like Invidious, Newpipe or Freetube (Desktop) keep their own watch history without letting google know