this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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757
Google has a price for you. We found it. (proton.me)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by Deep@mander.xyz to c/technology@lemmy.world
189 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The Price of Free Google Report.

Proton analyzed over 54,000 demographic profiles using 2025 ad auction data to estimate what advertisers pay to reach different types of Americans. The range is much wider than you might expect.

The average American generates about $1,605 a year in advertising value. A 35- to 44-year-old man in Bozeman, MT, without children, using a desktop and making high-value corporate searches, generates an estimated $17,929.30. An 18- to 24-year-old father in Fort Smith, AR, using an Android phone and making low-value searches, generates $31.05.

That’s a 577x difference between two people using the same free service.

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[–] Etterra@discuss.online 23 points 6 days ago (2 children)

You can't generate ad revenue from me if I have ad blockers.

[–] uenticx@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago

Until you log into gmail and give them a fingerprint to share around. They still track you unfortunately.

[–] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Then how do you support our corporate overloads?

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They'll just have to eat the money they already have.

[–] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 5 points 6 days ago

Let them eat cash,

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 24 points 6 days ago

The top 10% of profiles: heavy desktop users — generate 43% of all advertiser value

Helps explain why Microsoft has started injecting ads into the OS so aggressively.

[–] bstix@feddit.dk 10 points 6 days ago

It would be interesting to calculate the user's value of the time wasted on this shit.

My guess is that online advertising has a negative return for society as a whole. It should be illegal.

[–] arcine@jlai.lu 13 points 6 days ago

I wonder how much money people have wasted buying my data. I have ad blockers everywhere, I never see a single ad or sponsored message, if their system actually works it should be marked worthless.

[–] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 16 points 6 days ago (1 children)

High-value, low-value

😑

[–] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

Google is a femcel

[–] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 7 points 6 days ago

Im priceless. Or worthless.

[–] flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That might be what they pay Google to advertise to those groups. But do they manage to get that much profit out of those advertisements from those groups?

I know it is not true to say that "advertising doesn't work on me" but I wonder if the revenue the advertisers are getting out of that professional man in MT adds up to anywhere close to $17,929/yr worth of sales of their products/services.

[–] belochka@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Some people might think it's nonsense to pay more to reach some group than it gives directly, but there might be a degree of diffusion such that it's not.

Suppose, that computer-savvy woman is the source of advice for her many friends after trying some things out or whatever.

Suppose, that professional man uses occasionally a free tool for their task, that seems to be "first page in Google", but is in fact the most familiar from 8 things listed on that first page.

Then they use it again or their coworkers or friends know that the tool exists. Then eventually they might buy it.

It's all probabilities, but those that spread.

Why did I even write this, it's obvious.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Wild that one of the most desirable regions, Durham NC, is within 1 hr of one of the least, Greensboro NC.

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