Apple finally rolled out its promised privacy feature with the iOS 14.5 update last April 26. Now, users can choose to opt out of being tracked by third-party apps.
As a result, every app that wants to continue existing on the Apple Store needs to explain what they will do with the user data they collect. Every time a user opens an app, they will be greeted with a pop-up where they can Allow or Ask it not to track their user data.
This article will discuss how the new update impacts advertisers who depend on tracking their customers.
How iOS 14 Changed Advertising?
Before the iOS 14 update, apps can freely access your phone's unique Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) number. It's a cookie that allows advertisers to assess the efficacy of ads per customer and, in turn, create more targeted campaigns. Apps can even get user data from other platforms, such as social media apps to e-commerce sites and vice versa.
However, the new privacy update now requires app developers to ask permission first before getting track of their customers. Apple also said that apps that failed to comply with this new feature would be deleted from the App Store.
Facebook is among the first platforms to show concern about this new update. According to them, Apple's new policy will limit certain data sharing and collection if people opt out of tracking on iOS devices through the prompt. As a result, advertisers will get limited ad personalization and performance reporting for both web and app conversion events.
Why Should Advertisers be Concerned With the iOS 14 Update?
If you are a digital marketer whose clients mainly depend on iPhone users to target and monitor their consumers, this is something that you should be preparing for. While the initial data on the update's impact is slowly unraveling, the consensus is that Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) will reduce the personalization and monitoring features of apps in the long run.
This update affects Facebook and other social media, but other advertising platforms as well, such as Google Ads. Even Amazon Ads, which has its own ads ecosystem, can expect shifts in how the brands advertise to cope with the new update.
What Happens When an iOS User Opts Out of Tracking?
As you already know, Facebook uses different tools such as Facebook pixel to receive and analyze conversion events. The new iOS update will limit the data collection and sharing of these tools, much like how the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) weakened cookies on browser websites.
- If Facebook cannot monitor user actions, the monitoring pixel's efficacy and all of its consequences are seriously harmed. This leads to incorrect conversion reporting, as well as inadequate remarketing attempts.
- The ability to target will be limited. As a result, the ability to create hyper-personalized advertisements for specific audiences can be severely limited.
- Less targeting choices mean more money is spent, and ad copy is less personalized.
- Ultimately, this can hurt your bottom line. According to a Facebook survey, small businesses could lose over 60% of their website revenue due to advertising.
How To Adapt To The iOS 14 Policy
Fortunately, many platforms have prepared for the roll-out of the iOS 14 update. Snapchat, for example, has compiled several iOS 14 App Guides and iOS 14 Web Guides to prepare advertisers on their platform with this new update.
Below are other steps you can take to ensure that you can adapt to these changes:
1. For Facebook advertisers, you must decide the eight most essential event conversions that you should track. Moreover, you need to compare monthly and weekly attribution from the day the update was rolled out. Finally, if you can find a good tracking alternative that will solve some of your problems.
2. If you are using Google Ads, switch to the newest version of Google Analytics for Firebase. This move will allow you to adapt SKAdNetwork support which is what Apple iOS 14 is using. You must also get permission to update your Info. List and integrate the NSUser Tracking Usage Description key with a personalized message detailing the user data's usage.
3. On the other hand, Pinterest advises its advertisers to review ad performance in their platform based on the device type. The company suggests optimizing bids or budgets for video views and brand awareness to align with business goals. They also recommend leveraging automatic bidding while continuing with the current campaign settings.
4. Meanwhile, if you're advertising on Amazon, you need to adapt on the impacted scale and be nimble in executing new strategies. You may transition from mobile iOS to Android apps or any other channel where Amazon data can still be tracked.
Final Takeaway
The new iOS 14 update brings more challenges for online advertisers, but it also brings in more opportunities. As the digital world steps in favor of user privacy, it's essential to keep your wits and begin testing new strategies that don't rely on user data tracking. This event may even be the perfect opportunity to explore other advertising platforms and remarket audiences towards these channels.
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