Neowin News Feed for: Advertising

Unskippable ads and ads with fake cancel buttons are now illegal in Vietnam

David Uzondu — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 20:16:01 +0000

Unskippable ads and ads with fake cancel buttons are fairly common online, but Vietnam has now passed a decree that outlaws them. Read more...

Facebook and Instagram ad-free subscription arrives in the U.K.

Karthik Mudaliar — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 15:12:01 +0000

Meta is introducing a subscription service in the U.K., allowing Facebook and Instagram users to pay a monthly fee for an ad-free experience. Read more...

Watchdog finds Microsoft guilty of confusing advertising when it comes to Copilot

Usama Jawad — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 14:04:01 +0000

A U.S. watchdog has criticized Microsoft for making statements about Copilot that are not a "good fit" for making objective claims regarding increased productivity. Read more...

Meta says you'll soon be getting ads on WhatsApp

David Uzondu — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:04:01 +0000

The days of ad-free WhatsApp are over, as Meta has confirmed it will begin showing ads within the app. Read more...

Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon partner admits your phone could listen to everything

Sayan Sen — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 08:02:01 +0000

An advertising partner of Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon admitted that your smartphones and other devices can listen to everything you say for ad targeting. Read more...

Musk is suing advertisers for money they didn't spend on X, accusing them of illegal boycott

Martin Hodás — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 06:10:01 +0000

In an unexpected turn of events, X announced legal action against several advertising groups and entities for an alleged boycott, arguing that it cost the social network billions in ad revenue. Read more...

Damage control: Apple releases new animation heavy ad for the iPad Pro

Aditya Tiwari — Thu, 30 May 2024 02:36:02 +0000

After upsetting many people, Apple has released a new ad for iPad Pro called "Worlds Made on iPad." The ad shows what different animators can create using the same green screen setup and an iPad Pro. Read more...

Weird YouTube behavior skips some videos to the end when using an ad blocker

Aditya Tiwari — Mon, 27 May 2024 23:40:01 +0000

A strange issue in YouTube is automatically skipping videos to the end. According to several user reports, it is happening to users with the AdBlock extension installed on their devices. Read more...

Samsung releases 'Uncrush' ad to mock Apple and its iPad Pro ad

Aditya Tiwari — Thu, 16 May 2024 03:26:01 +0000

Apple ended up in a controversy last week after releasing its 'Crush' ad for the iPad Pro. Now, Samsung has released a follow-up commercial called 'UnCrush' taking a dig at the Cupertino giant. Read more...

Apple apologises for new iPad Pro commercial due to online backlash

Steve Bennett — Thu, 09 May 2024 21:02:01 +0000

Apple has released an apology for its new iPad Pro ad which showed creative tools and other objects being crushed by a hydraulic press, saying that it "missed the mark" after drawing criticism. Read more...

Meta rolls out new Gen AI features for advertisers, and expands Meta Verified for businesses

Steve Bennett — Tue, 07 May 2024 21:08:01 +0000

Meta has announced today that it will be launching new Generative AI tools for advertisers, including image and text generation. It is also expanding the Meta Verified platform to more countries. Read more...

How to turn off the new ads in Discord, even without Nitro

Martin Hodás — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 07:28:01 +0000

Discord ends its ad-free era with new personalized Quests promotions. However, you can quickly turn off the ads in a user's settings without the need for a subscription: this is how. Read more...

Discord to start showing ads in the coming week after resisting for almost a decade

Martin Hodás — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 22:24:01 +0000

In an apparent effort to boost revenues, gaming social media startup Discord plans to implement ads into its free service. The step is expected in the coming days after 9 years of ad-free experience. Read more...

Are you safe online? Which? consumer group exposes scam ads across major online platforms

Paul Hill — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 13:32:02 +0000

The UK-based consumer rights group, Which?, has exposed the scale of scam ads across major online platforms such as Google, YouTube, and Facebook. It called on companies to do more. Read more...

EU watchdogs are concerned about Meta's "Pay or Okay" model for ad-free subscriptions

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 14:08:01 +0000

Meta has a fee for consumers to reject sharing their data with advertising companies in Europe. However, today 28 EU privacy watchdogs have spoken against this ad-free subscription model. Read more...

Disney launches AI-powered tool for targeted advertising on Disney+ and Hulu

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 14:18:01 +0000

The Walt Disney Company is adding AI-powered contextual advertising tools for brands. Hence, Disney+ and Hulu users will see ads based on the moods of scenes from the movies they are watching. Read more...

YouTube appears to be slowing itself down upon detecting ad blockers

Steve Bennett — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 15:58:01 +0000

In YouTube's continuing war against ad-blocking users, it's being discovered that the site has enabled code that slows itself down, with immediate recovery once the user turns off their ad blocker. Read more...

Netflix looking at adding ads to its games, and charging extra for some

Steve Bennett — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:04:02 +0000

Netflix's gaming library has been expanding at a rapid pace in recent months, however the platform is looking at more ways to make money from the service including a charge for some titles and adverts Read more...

WhatsApp head denies reports of ads coming to its app

Aditya Tiwari — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 07:58:01 +0000

A media report claimed WhatsApp is working to bring ads to its instant messaging app for the first time. However, the claims were soon disputed by WhatsApp's head in a response made on X. Read more...

YouTube is changing the way it serves ads on TV apps

Steve Bennett — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 21:24:01 +0000

Google has announced changes to the way it serves adverts to viewers on YouTube who are using connected TV apps to watch their content, primarily making the breaks longer but less frequent. Read more...

Amazon Prime Video is reportedly working on an ad supported tier

Steve Bennett — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 19:18:01 +0000

Discussions have begun within Amazon to develop a new tier for its Prime Video service, which would be supported by ads, as one of the many options for Amazon to increase advert-led revenue. Read more...

Microsoft already planning on bringing ads to Bing's chatbot

Steve Bennett — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 19:22:01 +0000

Today, Microsoft has started having conversations with advertising agencies on how it can incorporate ads into the newly unveiled Bing chatbot platform powered by generative AI, particularly ChatGPT. Read more...

Twitter relaxes its advertising policies to allow cannabis ads

Justin Luna — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 02:48:02 +0000

Twitter has relaxed its advertising policies to allow cannabis companies to advertise their brand on the platform. However, advertisers cannot promote the sale of the item, save for some exceptions. Read more...

UK Online Safety Bill threatens social media companies' ad revenue and user numbers

Paul Hill — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 10:30:01 +0000

With the Online Safety Bill almost through the House of Commons, social media firms have said they're concerned about the impact the bill will have on their finances as ads get seen by fewer people. Read more...

Tesla fined $2.2 million in South Korea for false advertising claims

Paul Hill — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 04:24:01 +0000

Tesla has been fined $2.2 million by South Korea's Fair Trade Commission. The regulator says the company mislead customers through false advertising that exaggerated its cars' capabilities. Read more...

Netflix's ad-supported tier underperformed expectations according to ad agencies

Paul Hill — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 17:46:01 +0000

Netflix's ad-supported tier is underperforming expectations, according to some ad agencies that spoke to Digiday. The ad-supported tier is still new and could grow in popularity with its lower price. Read more...

Mark Zuckerberg sides with Elon Musk over Apple App Store fees controversy

Karthik Mudaliar — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 06:56:01 +0000

While speaking at a summit, Mark Zuckerberg reinstated that Meta is still not happy with Apple's App Store policies, adding that Apple primarily decides what apps get on a device due to their control. Read more...

Google agrees to pay largest privacy settlement in U.S. history for tracking location data

Karthik Mudaliar — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 08:32:01 +0000

Google will pay $391.5 million as part of its settlement with 40 U.S. states after it continued to track users' location data even after turning location tracking features off in the settings. Read more...

Buying ads on Twitter "high-risk," says world's biggest ad company

Justin Luna — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:40:01 +0000

GroupM, the world's biggest ad company, is reportedly telling its clients that advertising on Twitter is "high risk." This comes after high-profile impersonations by users verified via Twitter Blue. Read more...

SpaceX takes out $250,000 ad campaign on Twitter in Australia and Spain

Paul Hill — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 04:11:12 +0000

SpaceX has spent a substantial amount of money buying ad space on Twitter, both companies are owned by Elon Musk. It comes as brands stop advertising on Twitter over moderation concerns. Read more...

Twitter CEO Elon Musk says ad revenue has dropped massively

Paul Hill — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 18:04:01 +0000

Elon Musk, Twitter's new CEO, has said the platform has seen a massive drop in revenue from advertisers. Several companies, including Audi and General Motors, have paused their Twitter advertisements. Read more...

Google will cripple Android VPN services that threaten to break advertisements

Alap Naik Desai — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 21:50:01 +0000

Google claims it is cracking down on VPN services that track user data and reroute traffic for ad monetization. The company will cripple apps that can interfere with or block advertisements. Read more...

Apple is looking to add even more advertising across the iPhone and iPad

Steve Bennett — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 21:06:01 +0000

Apple is looking to expand its own advertising business across iPhones and iPads, after restricting third-party advertising methods through the App Tracking Transparency feature added in iOS 14. Read more...

Netflix planning lower priced plan with ads and penalize password sharing, suggests report

Alap Naik Desai — Tue, 10 May 2022 21:56:01 +0000

Netflix is contemplating adding a new subscription tier that could cost less but would have ads. The streaming company could also start charging subscribers who share passwords with non-paying users. Read more...

Sony scouting AdTech companies to insert ads within PlayStation games, just like Microsoft

Alap Naik Desai — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 04:58:01 +0000

Sony could be following in Microsoft's footsteps by trying to insert ads within games played on the PlayStation 5. The ads, however, will be non-obtrusive and served only in the free-to-play titles. Read more...

Microsoft Xbox console games to contain ads but they could be subtle in-game ‘promotions'

Alap Naik Desai — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 20:56:02 +0000

Ads within games that are played on a dedicated gaming console are still a rarity. It seems Microsoft is interested in building its own ad network that serves subtle and non-intrusive ads to gamers. Read more...

Netflix will stay ad-free even if it means higher entry price point to streaming service

Alap Naik Desai — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 22:42:02 +0000

Netflix has confirmed that it will not insert ads to lower the entry price of subscriptions on its streaming service. The company could, however, explore an ad-subsidized model owing to competition. Read more...

Snapchat halts ads in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, continues offering app as a tool

Fiza Ali — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 15:50:01 +0000

Snapchat shows solidarity for Ukraine by halting all advertising in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It will continue delivering its Snapchat app in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia as a communications tool. Read more...

Singapore bans cryptocurrency ads and promotion to public claiming it's high-risk investment

Alap Naik Desai — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 19:48:01 +0000

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has effectively banned all promotions of cryptocurrencies and services that deal in digital tokens. The regulator claims they are "high-risk" investments. Read more...

Gartner expects fewer people will opt-out of personalised mobile app ads by 2023

Paul Hill — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 17:32:01 +0000

The analyst firm, Gartner, has said that more people will opt-in to mobile app ad tracking by 2023 after experiencing untargeted ads. it comes as Apple offers iPhone users more control over data. Read more...