By Brandon Bailey, Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --Apple says that it will start showing paid ads when people search for apps in its popular mobile store.
It's also encouraging app-makers to sell more apps on a subscription basis, by promising them a bigger cut of revenue when consumers maintain their subscriptions for at least a year.
Apple is hoping the changes starting this summer will bring in more money for itself as well as for independent software developers who make apps for the iPhone or iPad.
Consumers spent more than $20 billion in the App Store last year, but with more than 1.5 million apps available, developers say it's getting more difficult to compete for attention.
Apple said Wednesday that the new ads could help app-makers get more visibility for their products. The company also said it will improve the search tool that helps users find new apps, while promising that wealthy advertisers won't be able to dominate the results.
Apple said it will show no more than one ad, marked in blue, at the top of the list that appears when someone searches for apps by name or subject. Google started showing similar ads in its Play Store last year.
"If it's done well, this could be very effective, because search is the number one way that consumers find the apps they are looking for," said Julie Ask, an analyst with Forrester Research. She predicted Apple will make changes if consumers don't like the way ads are presented.
Apple's new emphasis on app subscriptions could provide the company and app-developers with a more reliable and longer-lasting stream of income, although it could lead to consumers paying more for some services over time.
Apple generally keeps 30 percent of the purchase price that app-makers charge consumers. But Apple said it will reduce its share after a consumer has kept the subscription for a year, meaning the developer's take will grow from 70 to 85 percent of the subscription fee.
South Korea fines Meta $15 million for illegally collecting information on Facebook users
South Korea's privacy watchdog on Tuesday fined social media company Meta 21.6 billion won ($15 million) for illegally collecting sensitive personal information from Facebook users, including data about their political views and sexual orientation, and sharing it with thousands of advertisers.
It was the latest in a series of penalties against Meta by South Korean authorities in recent years as they increase their scrutiny of how the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, handles private information.
Following a four-year investigation, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission concluded that Meta unlawfully collected sensitive information about around 980,000 Facebook users, including their religion, political views and whether they were in same-sex unions, from July 2018 to March 2022.
It said the company shared the data with around 4,000 advertisers.
South Korea's privacy law provides strict protection for information related to personal beliefs, political views and sexual behavior, and bars companies from processing or using such data without the specific consent of the person involved.
The commission said Meta amassed sensitive information by analyzing the pages the Facebook users liked or the advertisements they clicked on.
The company categorized ads to identify users interested in themes such as specific religions, same-sex and transgender issues, and issues related to North Korean escapees, said Lee Eun Jung, a director at the commission who led the investigation on Meta.
"While Meta collected this sensitive information and used it for individualized services, they made only vague mentions of this use in their data policy and did not obtain specific consent," Lee said.
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