If you have an iPhone, you can go to your settings today and find the iOS 14.5 update waiting for you. However, this update is different from the rest in one major way that will affect the entire online marketing and advertising industry.
You will be able to control whether or not you want to be tracked by advertisers through Apple’s ATT (App Tracking Transparency).
For users, this means that a pop-up will now appear any time you open an app that wants access to a device ID called the IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers). This will mean that once you opt-out you will have a harder time receiving tailored ads because your information will no longer be tracked.
For advertisers, specifically big companies like Facebook, this new privacy update for iPhone users will hurt one of their biggest tactics for online advertising. With this new update, advertisers and marketers will struggle to tailor ads to their target audiences because of the concealed information.
Although Facebook has considered suing Apple for removing one of its main sources of tracking information, Apple has dug its heels in the ground. Apple execs have even stated that it may remove apps from the Apple Store that continue to track users without the user’s permission.
With the rising complications of advertising towards iPhone users, there has been a significant spike in CPMs (cost per thousand) for marketing towards Android users. Nonetheless, there are likely to be other major changes in the coming months as marketers and advertisers scramble to find new ways around the new iOS 14.5 update.
