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.
Targeted ads. I live in a third world country having its economy devastated by targeted foreign online gambling advertisements and I can tell you the consequences are severe and in large scale.
People can mass spam websites without data. Targeted ads are ads based on my search. Without this we would be paying for all internet services. Searching, email, maps everything you would need to pay for.