According to a new CNBC report, Facebook will preempt Apple’s new ATT (AppTrackingTransparency) notification on iOS 14 with its own. The notification asks iPhone and iPad Facebook users to let Facebook use their app and website activity for cross-channel advertising, emphasizing that the data will deliver “ads that are more personalized” and “support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers.”
The notification attempts to incentivize Facebook users to keep tracking on as the company grapples with Apple’s new privacy policy.
The revised ATT policy will require all developers to explicitly ask for permission when they use information from other companies’ apps and websites for advertising purposes. This shift means that the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) — a random ID assigned by Apple to each user’s device, enabling developers and brands to track and target — will become entirely opt-in.
While Apple’s changes to ATT have netted positive reviews from privacy advocates, developers and the digital ad industry are understandably concerned.
80% of all iOS 14 users are expected to opt-out of app tracking. In another study, AppsFlyer found that nearly 60% of advertisers expect a “negative effect” from the coming changes, hurting everything from revenue to customer engagement. Meanwhile, 33% said plan to cut spend in response, taking dollars away from publishers and developers.
Facebook has been outspoken about ATT’s impact. In December, the company placed print ads in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post saying that “many in the small business community have shared concerns about Apple’s forced software update, which will limit businesses’ ability to run personalized ads and reach their customers effectively.”
Last week, during its fourth quarter earnings call, Facebook took the battle further, saying, “Apple has every incentive to use their dominant platform position to interfere with how our apps and other apps work, which they regularly do to preference their own. This impacts the growth of millions of businesses around the world, including with the upcoming iOS 14 changes.”
Reports estimate making IDFA entirely opt-in could lead to a 7% loss in quarterly revenue for Facebook.
Tim Cook pushed back on Facebook’s PR campaign during a speech on International Data Privacy Day.
“Technology does not need vast troves of personal data, stitched together across dozens of websites and apps, in order to succeed,” said Cook. “Advertising existed and thrived for decades without it. And we’re here today because the path of least resistance is rarely the path of wisdom,” he added. “If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, then it does not deserve our praise. It deserves reform.”
Apple has announced that its ATT changes will go into effect in “early spring.”
