Apple finally rolled out iOS 14.5 to all users this week, bringing the long-awaited App Tracking Transparency into effect. Since announcing the feature, Facebook has complained about the impact this option will have on its business model. Now a leaked memo from the company shows how advertisers will be affected.
As reported by Business Insider uncovered, the memo was sent to some advertisers on Wednesday explaining how App Tracking Transparency will affect ads on Facebook and Instagram. The company explains that it expects ad campaign results to gradually "fluctuate" as users update their devices to iOS 14.5 in the coming weeks. Advertisers will lose the ability to tag an ad with an estimated time frame that leads to a conversion when it comes to iOS users. The memo states:
- 1-day click-through opt-out data will be modeled for advertisers.
- 7-day click-through and 1-day view-through attribution settings will no longer include iOS 14.5 opt-out events.
- 28-day click-through, 7-day view-through, and 28-day view-through attribution tools will no longer be available to advertisers.
For users using iOS 14.5, both the Facebook and Instagram apps will be automatically removed from tracking settings.
Facebook strongly criticizes iOS privacy policies
The company also clarifies that it will not be possible to create things like Mobile App Install campaigns targeting iOS 14.5 users. The campaigns currently active targeting iOS users will no longer be shown for those using iOS 14.5. In the coming weeks, advertisers should expect a decrease in the audience for their ads as more users opt out of tracking. This should of course also impact Facebook's revenue, which is primarily based on ads. Earlier this week, a report detailed how Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg are at loggerheads with how apps handle privacy. The Facebook CEO has been heavily critical of Apple due to changes in iOS privacy policies. However, recently Zuckerberg has argued that the social network will somehow benefit from these changes. How that will actually end up looking remains to be seen. (Photo by Denys Prykhodov / Bigstockphoto)