Disney+ demands users’ age and gender so it can “deliver targeted advertising”

by NickRandomon 11/15/2022, 4:28 PMwith 234 comments

by mikedelagoon 11/15/2022, 7:09 PM

I'm so exhausted from constant advertisements.

I'm so tired of my information being sold off to third parties in order to deliver ads.

I'm so tired of good, useful tools and services requiring a forfeit of my privacy in order to use them.

Does anyone else wish that they could just exist without being told to buy something every 15 waking minutes?

by acdon 11/15/2022, 5:13 PM

Coppa

"Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ("COPPA")"

If the kids is below 13, targeting would probably not be allowed.

"The act, effective April 21, 2000, applies to the online collection of personal information by persons or entities under U.S. jurisdiction about children under 13 years of age, including children outside the U.S. if the website or service is U.S.-based.[1] It details what a website operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent or guardian, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online, including restrictions on the marketing of those under 13.[2]"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_...

by TheLoafOfBreadon 11/15/2022, 5:59 PM

At the start Netflix was about getting rid of ads ridden cable TV so you now you can get competing Disney+ which is now just a cable TV with targeted ads based on your personal data. It is evolving, only backwards.

by dymkon 11/15/2022, 5:08 PM

Age and gender are the two highest signals that targeted ads take into account. The Facebook growth team has always wanted to remove gathering age / gender from the sign-up flow (which reduces friction to sign up). But, ad targeting would take such a large hit, they could never do so.

It was a huge deal internally when "Custom" was added as a gender option in the sign-up flow, and even then, there's a nudge towards the binary to retain better ad targeting.

In addition to that, companies wants you to acknowledge that you're over 13 so they can be more loosey-goosey with data collection (thanks California!).

by Hizonneron 11/15/2022, 4:55 PM

Does ANYBODY EVER provide an accurate response to a question like that (except when there's reason to believe they can detect it and do something to your detriment if you lie)?

If so, why?

Anybody who asks deserves to be chaffed into oblivion with garbage data.

Especially, who would be dumb enough to admit to being under 18, or, worse, under 13? An 8 year old should see the obvious reasons not to do that. A bright 6 year old.

I used to lie and say I was really old, but now I'm really old so I just lie at random.

by logicalmonsteron 11/15/2022, 5:35 PM

Why does Disney really need this information for advertising purposes when they already know what shows somebody is watching? I realize that any age/gender can watch any show, and of course a lot of Disney's catalogue is pretty universal to age/gender, but there's going to be some kind of a signal in anybody's viewing history.

If some profile is routinely watching a show about makeup or horses or ballet dances, you have a pretty good guess about the age/gender. Likewise if some profile is watching a lot of shows about monster trucks, little league baseball, and RPG games, you likewise can make a pretty reasonable guess about who they are.

by yamazakiwion 11/15/2022, 5:04 PM

Tiktok asked for my birthday and I couldn't navigate away from the page. I uninstalled and reinstalled the app to try and circumvent entering a birthday. They banned my account.

This account was active for 2+ years and they out of the blue REQUIRED a birthday like wth.

by Markoffon 11/15/2022, 5:03 PM

Good for them, I "pirate" content legally since I pay huge fees in Czechia from each storage media (last time I bought 64GB flashdrive, the copyright fees were more than cost of the flash drive), so I can legally download copy of any movie, TV show or music for my own use.

Pahe in India, Philipines, PSA on PM, MKVking and plenty of other options to download legally content even without torrenting.

by nskeon 11/15/2022, 7:01 PM

Ah, I guess I'll just lie and if they somehow lock me out or give me trouble, let's just say it's their loss more than mine. Streaming services should remember they keep customers by offering convenience and the feeling of doing the right thing at a reasonable cost, not because they managed to enforce exclusivity of their content. That's a battle they never won.

by noasaserviceon 11/15/2022, 6:20 PM

Just Pirate and store stuff using Jellyfin. It's an infinitely better experience, and everything just works. And you don't get advertised to, demographized, tracked, or anything. You download, copy, go!

I used to recommend Netflix back in the day, cause it just worked. Now, there's 30+ different streaming services, and many have switched to the "leak an episode once a week/month".

Just pirate. It's better, cheaper, AND not hostile to the end user!

by 6yyyyyyon 11/15/2022, 6:45 PM

If only there were a service that:

- Doesn't show ads, or steal your personal information.

- Has all the content from every major streaming service.

- Is scalable and efficient without a centralized single point of failure.

- Can be used with 100% free and open source software.

- Lets you keep your favorite shows forever without being subject to the whims of corporate licensing.

by tomjen3on 11/15/2022, 5:52 PM

Well then, I guess that I am born on Jan 1st 1970 and identify as a multi-user OS.

by LAC-Techon 11/15/2022, 6:18 PM

I've lost count of the amount of times the government has asked me what my race is. Surely they'd know by now...

by jklinger410on 11/15/2022, 7:29 PM

I wonder how many commenters on HN work for businesses that in some way or another use advertising to help sustain their revenue.

By the tone of every thread discussing advertising you would think the answer would be zero. But it is certainly not zero.

by nashashmion 11/15/2022, 5:23 PM

Wife and I use the same account. What do I do?

by vletalon 11/15/2022, 6:35 PM

I'll happily build them a model which estimates it.

Heck, it could be even better, since your "mental" age based on your interests in movies could be more suitable for delivering ads then your actual age.

by jabroni_saladon 11/15/2022, 7:32 PM

I feel like this is rather superfluous on Disney's side. If my account has watched Frozen 172 times, you should be able to figure out which ad will be effective on it.

by NickC25on 11/15/2022, 8:04 PM

A multibillion dollar corporation wants to advertise to me on a service I already pay for? Should be free, then.

That's too bad, guess the high seas are calling.

by ProAmon 11/15/2022, 5:08 PM

My birthday is always January 1st, 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC

by mensetmanusmanon 11/15/2022, 4:57 PM

Just say you’re 6

by biasedestimateon 11/15/2022, 5:09 PM

At least they ask you for it, instead of tracking you until they can figure it out.

by JadoJodoon 11/15/2022, 7:57 PM

Part of me wants to just lean in and claim to be a "105-year-old they/them", but I know that the vast majority of people would happily provide this information just to keep their service up. What a shame.

by lowbloodsugaron 11/15/2022, 6:39 PM

Hm. Recession is making us cutback on our streaming services, but which ones to keep and which ones to cancel? Thanks Disney for making the choice easy!

by StanislavPetrovon 11/15/2022, 9:49 PM

I don't watch Disney+, but if I was so inclined this demand would certainly drive me from the subscription camp into the bootleg stream camp.

by mrwhon 11/15/2022, 4:52 PM

I honestly thought this was a phishing attempt. There doesn't seem to be a way to enter these data via the website, only the email link.

by throw03172019on 11/15/2022, 5:29 PM

Will these ads be shown in their paid product?

by odessacubbageon 11/15/2022, 5:32 PM

i have still never seen a 'targeted ad' that is even remotely related to my interests or purchasing habits.

by DoingIsLearningon 11/15/2022, 6:32 PM

Off topic but is there any way to block/disable chromecast screensaver ads from Disney+/Netflix etc.?

by thrillon 11/15/2022, 6:09 PM

All they need to know is that someone old enough to have a credit card is paying for the subscription.

by gorwellon 11/15/2022, 5:45 PM

What will they deliver to me, a xi/xir, born in 1935?

by kderbymaon 11/15/2022, 7:16 PM

and....I Cancel....because fuck them.

by egberts1on 11/15/2022, 6:57 PM

No thanks.

We don't need curated ads.

We will seek them out so just put it ALL out there for us to choose at our time and privacy.

by kennethreitzon 11/16/2022, 3:34 PM

really not that big a deal

by hyperbovineon 11/15/2022, 7:36 PM

just lie