Apple is coming out with new privacy updates, which Facebook is pretty upset about.

This update is related to their latest operating system, iOS 14. With this update, users will be able to block the IDFA identifier at the app level. It means that apps will be required to ask for users’ permission to collect and share data. It is expected that this change will happen in all Apple products.

This is a practical implementation of Apple’s belief that privacy is a user right. And they seem quite serious about it. That’s why they are continuously working on providing users to opt-out of any targeting.

Apple has said,

“Privacy is a fundamental human right and at the core of everything we do. That’s why with iOS 14, we’re giving you more control over the data you share and more transparency into how it’s used”.

As an advertiser and business owner, read on to find out what you should know about Apple’s new privacy update and how you should proceed going forward.

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What is IDFA and Apple’s New Privacy Update?

The identifier for Advertisers or IDFA is a unique identifier for mobile devices. It is used to target and measure the effectiveness of advertising on the user level.

IOS 14 is Apple’s upcoming operating system for iPhones and iPads. In this operating system, they plan to add changes that can highly impact how mobile is utilized for insights, targeting, and attribution.

In the announcement, Apple said that users would block the sharing of this unique identifier at the App level. A notification will alert users to opt-in or opt-out of sharing this information whenever they install or update iOS 14. Plus, users will have a dashboard to check the permissions given to the different apps they use.

It’s not the first time they have done something like this. They have previously done these kinds of updates. One example is the iOS 13 update, which allowed apps to track users’ location. But the current update has caused a lot of distress.

Previously, almost 70% of people shared this information with app publishers. There’s a chance that this percentage will drop from 10% to 15%.

Facebook’s remarks on Apple’s New Privacy Update and how it affects advertisers!

Facebook has lashed out on Apple. They are claiming to “speak up for small businesses.” As a company that has many fingers pointing at them about not respecting users’ data, they still have the guts to say that Apple is doing injustice to advertisers.

Ignoring Facebook’s background, we should consider what they have to say here. According to them, this update is harmful to small businesses, while big businesses won’t be affected that much.

Here are some of their claims:

• It’s an update about profit, not privacy. Businesses will turn to subscriptions to generate revenue, which means Apple gets a share of that profit. Many free services might have to shift to a subscription model or leave their business entirely.
• The advertising budget for small businesses will be affected. Small websites could get a decrease in their profits generated from ads. It won’t affect personalization that much right now, but it’s more of a long-term loss.
• They are not applying these rules to themselves. Their own ad platform is not subject to this update.
• Facebook fears that if they don’t agree with Apple, they will see retaliation from them. They want to support small businesses. That’s why they will show a prompt on their apps.

Facebook has been hard on Apple about this update.

They ever took out full-page newspaper ads to attack them. One ad was titled, “We’re standing up to Apple for small businesses.”

The internet has made it so easy to start a business. There are different platforms where you can run ads and see your business grow. But this update may hurt small businesses while benefiting big businesses. People are finding it hard to survive in the pandemic, and this update might not be the best thing to see right now.

For revenue, many content creators and small businesses rely solely on advertising. They provide free content in return for revenue generated from ads. When they see a drop in profit, they might turn to other sources of monetization like subscriptions. This may also force some content creators or apps to leave their businesses.

Facebook says, “In testing, we’ve seen publishers experience more than a 50% drop in revenue when personalization was removed from mobile app ad install campaigns.”

The impact on small businesses might be serious. If they can’t find the right audience, their business will fall.

How to prepare your Facebook Ads for the Apple iOS 14 update

• Get your Domain Verified. Facebook is suggesting it for some underlying reasons. So do it for yourself and your clients.
• Understand your leads from Apple’s devices. This may let you know how much you can be impacted.
• Focus on email marketing as well. Use ads to get people’s emails. This will help you in the future.

I think that conversions will fall because of people’s opting-out. But there are too many things we don’t know yet, so there’s no need to panic.

Some app developers will use some methods against Apple’s new privacy update, so there will be some tracking. One of these methods is device fingerprinting. However, these methods can ban you from the App Store.

Many advertisers will have a very low effect because of the types of ads they are running.

So don’t panic and focus on what you are doing now. And let me know what you think about Apple’s new privacy update in the comments below!