When iOS 14 comes, Apple will disable preset tracking. Facebook & Co. have to ask permission to use & pass on data for advertising purposes. So will the update fundamentally change the advertising industry? An analysis. Apple has already released a preview of iOS 14. The new operating system is expected to come in autumn 2020 and make “everything even more helpful and personal.”
For example, we can expect new widgets that give us more information at a glance. A new app library automatically organize our apps in a user-friendly view. And a picture-in-picture feature lets us keep watching videos if we want to use another app simultaneously. So users can confidently look forward to the new operating system – quite unlike the advertising industry because iOS 14 brings other significant innovations with it.
IOS 14: Apps Must Get Permission To Track Ads
Apple is significantly tightening data protection and switching off automatic advertising tracking. This means that apps must first obtain user permission to collect, use and pass on data for advertising purposes.
Apple itself exempts itself from this rule. Its in-house advertising platform is still allowed to track us and display personalized or interest-based advertising. According to Heise, this is reported by developers who have access to the beta version of iOS 14. Now, of course, the advertising industry fears that many users will refuse to track and will therefore be able to display significantly less personalized advertising than before.
Facebook Sounds The Alarm
Facebook’s Audience Network allows developers to place ads in their apps. This is played out based on Facebook’s data from its users. And to collect this data, Facebook and Co. could previously use the IDFA provided by Apple. This is an identification number for users of Apple devices.
Advertisers could use them to see whether an advertising campaign led, for example, to a user installing a specific app. This identifier from Apple is now to be switched off with iOS 14. Users have to activate it manually for each app if they want corresponding applications to track their data. In summary, the new operating system can massively restrict advertising tracking of user data.
To What Extent Can IOS 14 Change The Advertising Industry?
So it looks like iOS 14 will be a real boon for users and a real threat for advertisers. So far, advertising tracking has been an extremely lucrative business model. Facebook and Co. were highly dependent on it to display advertising and ultimately profit. In addition, many users were not or are not even aware of how valuable their data is. And above all, their information is tracked and used to show interest-based advertising.
Seen in this way, advertising tracking has always been morally questionable. And if advertisers fail to alert and persuade users to re-enable the feature actively, they’ll have to come up with something entirely new.
The advertising industry seems to be on the verge of a fundamental change – whatever this will ultimately look like. Apple has already released a preview of iOS 14. The new operating system is expected to come in autumn 2020 and make “everything even more helpful and personal.” And to collect this data, Facebook and Co. could previously use the IDFA provided by Apple. This is an identification number for users of Apple devices. Seen in this way, advertising tracking has always been morally questionable.
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