The new iPhone security feature puts Facebook at greatest risk

In this way, when a user uses an app like Facebook, the system will ask for consent for the app to track user data for the purpose of offering targeted advertising.

Companies like Facebook worry that Apple's announcement will make users reluctant to trigger tracking, thus limiting their ability to place targeted ads, which are at the core of their business. Specifically, targeted ads now use IDFA to serve and measure ad impact.

Apple's upcoming change is expected to have a big impact on your units' ability to advertise because people can choose not to turn tracking on. MKM Partners analysts say they have built a seven-factor-based framework for determining the risk these changes will bring to online advertising companies.

These factors include: size, first-party data retrieval, to what extent the application depends on iOS devices, as well as app install advertising, off-platform advertising, and advertising. because small businesses buy and advertise heavily reliant on attracting paid mobile users to earn revenue (mainly companies in the gaming, dating, ride-hailing and video-streaming industries) Contribution of relative revenue from purchased advertising .

From these parameters, Apple's changes to IDFA could have the biggest negative impact on Facebook and Snap, followed by Twitter, Pinterest, and even Google or Amazon. In a report in December of last year, analysts said that Facebook and Snap face the greatest risk due to the above changes, which are expected to adversely affect 3% of Facebook's revenue and with Snap it is 5. %.

Facebook always opposes the above change and shows clearly its stance when posting a series of full-page ads in some major newspapers, as well as issuing an official announcement on the fanpage with arguments against Apple. Facebook claims the change will 'threaten the personalized advertising that millions of small businesses rely on to find and reach customers'.

Facebook alleges the new rule is 'for profit, not privacy', and that Apple is abusing its control over the App Store to engage in anti-competitive behavior. The cost falls on developers and small businesses.

Meanwhile, Apple says the security functionality gives iPhone users more control, giving them more insight into how data is tracked and used for advertising. Additionally, Apple emphasizes the benefit of enabling legitimate user tracking through setting up IDFA sharing consent from a device prompt.

David Pac

Update 09 January 2021