Meta’s Muse passes 3.4 million downloads as a youth group objects

Meta gives Muse most of its house advertising and also buys ads on Reddit, TikTok and YouTube. Even so, ads promoting Muse accounted for only 6 per cent of the ad impressions from launch to 19 September, TechCrunch reports, and it calls much of the app’s traction organic. Muse is available in the US and Canada.

The app is for adults only, and that is where the criticism lands. Josh Golin of the children’s advocacy group Fairplay told Wired that the plush default mascot, Jolly, would appeal to very young children.

Meta’s spokesperson called that “a story in search of a story”. The company says every user must give a date of birth, and it blocks people it detects may be under 18.

Trust is the second question. On TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, reporters asked whether people want to link bank cards and email to a company that sells ads. For advertisers, Muse puts a Meta agent between people and their daily tasks, inside the apps where their ads already run.