Last year, Apple announced a new privacy policy forcing apps to ask for permission to track users for advertising purposes. The App Tracking Transparency was launched as part of iOS 14.5 and it requires that apps request permission from users before tracking them across Apple Cost other apps and websites.
Before this, when you used apps on your iPhone, they email dataset would track you across other apps and websites to later target you with personalized advertising.
At the time of Apple’s new policy announcement, Facebook ran a campaign (a full-page newspaper ad) titled “Apple vs. the free internet” claiming changes in Apple’s mobile software would hurt small businesses and consumers, “changing the internet as we know it – for the worse.”
According to a Financial Times report released last week, social when should kpis and okrs be combined? zn business directory media giants that rely heavily on advertising as a revenue stream such as Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube lost around $9.85 billion in ad revenue following Apple’s changes to its privacy practices.
Meanwhile, Apple reported a “record” quarter for its advertising business while publicly fighting for privacy. Tim Cook, Apple chief executive, said: “We believe strongly that privacy is a basic human right. And so that’s our motivation there. There’s no other motivation.”
The public fight between two of the world’s largest tech companies is evidence of the huge impact of the shift to a privacy-first world.
People want privacy
Individuals around the world are expecting more privacy and control over their data. The App Tracking Transparency requires apps to get the user’s permission before tracking their data.
It seems that most people are not willing to grant those permissions as most users have opted out. The percentage of users that choose to “Allow Tracking” was at 15% worldwide in May 2021, and only 5% of US daily users with iOS 14.5 had opted in so far according to Flurry Analytics data.
Consumers are demanding privacy and ownership over their digital identities. Apple gave people a choice and people chose privacy.
If you think it’s only Apple…think again
The internet’s largest players are announcing updates to data collection policies to improve consumer privacy and transparency.
The third-party cookie as we know it is in its last days.
A majority of marketers use third-party cookies in their digital campaigns and should get ready to make the privacy shift.
Governance and privacy regulations like GDPR in Europe, LGPD in Brazil, CCPA in California (United States), and PIPA in South Africa are already enforcing privacy requirements online.
While these advancements empower users, they also impact marketers’ digital advertising efforts.