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The Top Three 🏆

The industry’s most important stories today.

🥇 WHAT GOOGLE’S U-TURN MEANS FOR MARKETERS

Google’s U-turn on fingerprinting, effective next month, opens up new opportunities for ad targeting. While advertisers welcomed the update, experts told AdExchanger marketers should proceed with caution. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called Google’s move “irresponsible,” warning businesses that they don’t have free rein to use fingerprinting. more

But can fingerprinting really be deployed "lawfully and transparently"?

• Cillian Kieran, CEO of privacy startup Ethyca, says theoretically it’s possible, but practically, it’s nearly impossible. A big issue with fingerprinting from a privacy perspective is that there’s no way for users to know it’s happening, let alone opt out.

• Arielle Garcia of Check My Ads argues that fingerprinting is just a way to sidestep transparency and informed consent. If users are okay with being tracked, fingerprinting becomes irrelevant.

🥈 “RED NOTE” UPRISING

With just six days until a potential TikTok ban, users are fleeing to Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media app that literally means “little red book” in Mandarin. Newcomers, calling it "Red Note" or "the Chinese Instagram," are using translation tools to navigate its predominantly Chinese platform as they settle in as "TikTok refugees." more

• It’s now the top-downloaded app in the U.S. App Store.

• Xiaohongshu is known in China as a platform for travel and lifestyle content and has 300M+ users.

• Lemon8, another ByteDance-owned app, is also seeing a surge in traffic from TikTok exiles.

🥉 GOOGLE SEARCH VOLATILITY TAKES A BREATHER

After weeks of chaos in December and early January, third-party Google Search volatility tools have finally returned to normal levels. That’s not to say there aren’t still some fluctuations in search visibility, but overall, the tools have shown a bit of a breather over the past few days. more

• December was a whirlwind: The November 2024 core update wrapped up, then the December 2024 core update and spam update hit right after.

• There was also a strange local ranking bug last weekend.

• For now, things are finally cooling off. But don't get too comfy, as we are expecting a lot more core updates in 2025.

Today’s Other News ☑︎

Everything else that matters.

Search 🔍

• Google has finally fixed the long-standing Google Maps pin attack exploit, which let users move business locations to another location, making them disappear in the rankings and local pack for relevant searches. more

• Microsoft is testing an updated Bing Search AI answer box powered by Copilot, featuring an interface that shows the names of the referenced web sites more prominently. The update shows full domain names and favicons for branding. more

Social Media 📱

• If you can't beat 'em, delete 'em: Meta is blocking links to Pixelfed, a decentralized Instagram rival, labeling the links as "spam" and deleting them immediately off Facebook. Pixelfed, an open-source image-sharing platform, has seen a surge in signups amid Meta's controversial rule changes. more

• Meanwhile, Mastodon is taking steps to decentralize further by creating a new nonprofit organization in Europe, and handing over control of key platform components to avoid one-person dominance. The company is trying to differentiate itself from CEO-controlled social networks like those of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. more

• TikTok has launched an updated Video Editor, now part of its Symphony creative toolset, offering more editing options in a single dashboard. The updated UI also now includes a range of templates to choose from, which are based on trending TikTok formats. more

  • We should hear within a day or two whether TikTok’s U.S. ban will be upheld. The good money, apparently, is that it will.

• Wait, isn't buying followers against Meta's rules?: Over the past week, some Instagram users have been hit with a new survey that hints the company might consider offering paid options for views, likes, and engagement. more

  • So, how much for 600 followers? In the survey’s first question, you’re asked if you’d rather drop $150 for 600 followers and 2k messages or pay $1,150 for more followers and comments.

Commerce and Loyalty 🛒 

• Amazon is shutting down its Prime Try Before You Buy program on January 31. The service let Prime members try up to 6 items before paying. more

  • 🚚 A spokesperson said it’s retiring due to limited item availability, but Amazon's push to reduce returns probably had something to do with it.

• Is your brand overlooking customer loyalty?: A new study found that 4 out of 5 UK consumers feel undervalued by the brands they remain loyal to. While loyalty is evident in repeat purchases and brand advocacy, the research suggests emotional connections between brands and customers are falling short. read the full study The research suggests several areas for improving customer loyalty:

  • Personalization through AI for tailored offerings.

  • Creating memorable experiences alongside quality products.

  • Prioritizing mobile app development, as app users show higher loyalty.

Streaming & Product Updates 🎮️ 

• Twitch clocked 1.58 billion hours of watch time in December—its lowest in more than 4 years, per Stream Charts. Yet, new streamers joining, and live channels are on the rise. more

  • The mystery remains: Twitch's financial struggles and policy drama have ruffled feathers this year, but AI emotes backlash alone doesn’t seem big enough to explain a viewership drop this steep.

• Adobe is rolling out “Firefly Bulk Create,” a new tool that lets users resize up to 10,000 images or replace all of their backgrounds in one click. The feature is launching in beta today, and split into two separate tools on the Firefly web app: “Remove Background” and “Resize.” more

Mergers & Acquisitions 💼

• The “digital out-of-home” industry just got smaller: T-Mobile has acquired Vistar Media in a $600M cash deal to boost its digital out-of-home advertising efforts. While T-Mobile is known for wireless services, it has been growing its ad offerings, including buying Octopus Interactive and launching a retail media network. more

  • Vistar operates more than 1.1 million digital screens globally and partners with 3,000+ brands.

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