All ads start as clearly labeled and distinctive. Then via the magic of iteration and A/B testing they magically evolve to become visually indistinguishable from the rest of the content except for what’s required by law.

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HPsquared 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

They'll eventually want to set it up so you read the sponsored content first, before seeing the tag saying it's an ad. You're more likely to absorb it then.

Especially if it's LLM-generated to fit with the context, the message will slip right into the mind. Then a little "(Sponsored)" at the bottom after you've already consumed the ad.

This is a bit like how ads are presented on X, they look like regular posts or replies but they usually feel off topic and you're thinking "huh, this doesn't fit the discussion". But LLMs will allow much more seamless and sneaky ads.

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MattDamonSpace 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You don’t say

https://9to5mac.com/2026/01/16/iphone-apple-app-store-search...

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musicale 4 hours ago | parent [-]

The iron law of encrapification: if a company can make more money by downgrading the user experience, it will. I imagine within Apple there were still people who advocated for a better, more transparent user experience, but ultimately they seem to have lost out to services people who just want to grab more money.

It's unfortunate because user experience was a core differentiating advantage for Apple that got them to where they are now.

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MarsIronPI 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

IMO that's unavoidable when you're a public company beholden to shareholders who only care about short term stock prices.

OK, maybe not all shareholders are playing the short game, but I feel like a lot of them are.

	▲	musicale 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I miss Tim Apple saying that there were things (accessibility) that Apple did that weren't based on ROI, and people who disagreed should get out of the stock.

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estimator7292 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I don't understand, Apple users did get a more "transparent" experience /s

	▲	musicale 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Hahaha. On an unrelated note I immediately turned off Liquid Glass.

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amelius 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And of course they will start collecting more information about users, and build an entire intelligent data extraction system around it.

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3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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oblio 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Come now, don't be evil!