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Steve Wozniak Drops Facebook: 'The Profits Are All Based On the User's Info' (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the business-decisions dept.

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak has formally deactivated his Facebook account. In an email interview with USA Today, Wozniak wrote that he was no longer satisfied with Facebook, knowing that it makes money off of user data. "The profits are all based on the user's info, but the users get none of the profits back," he wrote. "Apple makes its money off of good products, not off of you. As they say, with Facebook, you are the product." Ars Technica reports: His Sunday announcement to his Facebook followers came just ahead of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's scheduled testimony before Congress on Tuesday. The CEO is also reportedly set to meet with members of Congress privately on Monday. Wozniak wrote that Facebook had "brought me more negatives than positives." Still, when Wozniak tried to change some of his privacy settings in the aftermath of Cambridge Analytica, he said he was "surprised" to find out how many categories for ads he had to remove. "I did not feel that this is what people want done to them," added Wozniak. "Ads and spam are bad things these days and there are no controls over them. Or transparency."

12 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Um ... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wozniak wrote that he was no longer satisfied with Facebook, knowing that it makes money off of user data.

    Are you just figuring that out Steve or were you once okay with that arrangement and have since soured on it?

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  2. Really? by YuppieScum · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've been a fan of Woz's ever since I bought my first Apple ][, but, really? Only now are you realising that FB makes its money from your data?

    For a super-bright guy, he seems a bit slow on the up-take...

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    1. Re:Really? by Tough+Love · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I've been a fan of Woz's ever since I bought my first Apple ][, but, really? Only now are you realising that FB makes its money from your data?

      Obviously this has been no secret for a long time, he was likely motivated to take a public position on it by revelations of Facebook's involvement in the election hacking.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  3. Re:good luck with that, comrade by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    One time I got an unsolicited Facebook IM to go chat on Skype (ie. sex cam) because "she" thought I looked so handsome. Except my Facebook photo is that of a cartoon character.

    That spam experience led me to make my privacy settings stricter since I don't want to be contacted by people I don't know. I have always used the strictest settings, though, but somehow they seem to loosen up over time. My guess is that Facebook introduces new/redesigned settings once in a while and defaults them to wide open.

  4. Payment in Kind by Marc_Hawke · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The Facebook users don't get financial compensation, but they do get value from the service that Facebook provides.

    I wonder though, is Google in a different category? Is it fine to make all your money off of advertising, which is selling your users' eyeballs? If Facebook had ads on every page, would it still count as 'the users being the product?' Oh wait, it says in the Summary that he doesn't like ads or spam. (Not a Facebook user...didn't know how many ads were there.)

    So that means Google is exactly the same? They provide a free service, (or dozens of free services) as they sell your eyeballs and clicks to various advertisers. Is he dropping Google as well? Or are Google services worth it while Facebook isn't?

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    --Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
  5. Drop Google Too by neoRUR · · Score: 1, Insightful

    So I guess its time to Drop Google also since.... Google uses your data to sell Ads... Oh My.. Or the Internet...

  6. And go to where, exactly? by mark-t · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For all of its faults, facebook has merit in being an all-in-one solution for keeping in touch with people you know and following people and groups that serve particular interests.

    Of course one alternative is to go outside and meet real people, but the point of using facebook was, at least in my view, to connect with people that you wouldn't otherwise ever meet in real life. As people who I have genuine interests in are leaving facebook, I see no obvious alternative to it anywhere on the horizon.

    So.... serious question. Deactivate facebook and go where, exactly?

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    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    1. Re:And go to where, exactly? by psergiu · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So.... serious question. Deactivate facebook and go where, exactly?

      ... outside and meet real people

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      1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
  7. AOL by sycodon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I figured Facebook would go the way of AOL eventually. But not this way.

    AOL suffered a long, painful, pathetic death. Looks like FaceBook will be put down pretty soon compared to AOL.

    --
    When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    1. Re: AOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Thats sarcasm, right? Most people either dont know about the scandal or dont care.

    2. Re: AOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      AOL failed because its core service was obsolete. FB sucks, and everyone here wants them to fall, but their core service is still valuable and relevant for a ton of people.

  8. Re: Hey Steve by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Says the guy who has never been relevant.

    Sez the guy too Cowardly to even LOG IN...