Facebook released the second round of full-page ads in two days looking to have Apple … not launch a privacy update or anything like that.
The issue is an iOS update that will require users to provide explicit and opt-in consent to allow apps to track them with Apple Ad ID (IDFA), a unique “anonymous identifier” on each iOS device that allows companies like Facebook, as well as advertisers, to track user activities on applications. Currently, IDFA tracking is discontinued, which means that companies obtain this data implicitly. Facebook’s concern is that – naturally and for good reason – the fact that when given the choice, users do not want to let advertisers spy through half the crap they do on their own phones, because they don’t really care to see personalized ads and anything that tracks behavior he drags them out.
This could seriously reduce Facebook’s ability to do things like monitor post-installation actions, target ads, and model user behavior in iOS apps. Apple has previously moved to implement new ones anti-tracking features on Safari, the stock browser on iOS devices, which limits the ability of advertisers to track web users.
Facebook has offered two lines of defense – the fact that Apple is abusing its sole arbiter of iOS devices and that this move will be devastating for the poor mother and pop businesses that rely on it. Apple could be very big, anti-competitive bully, but seeing that Facebook is also there, it’s not clear why anyone would take the company seriously as an antitrust or small business lawyer. Regardless, Facebook began to crowd by attacking Apple over upcoming requirements through expensive, full page advertisements in the largest newspapers in the country. Here is the ad that appeared Wednesday in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post:
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Here is the edition of Thursday’s ad, which is almost identical:
Full-page ads are clearly meant to trigger some kind of backlash against Apple from small businesses, which can be a bit daunting.
Facebook wrote in the ads that “forced software update” (as if Apple were forcing users to install iOS 14 on fire) will make “your favorite cooking sites or sports blogs” have serious constraints on “their ability to run personalized ads” (that’s the idea.) Facebook has argued that this will mean that many Free sites or applications will instead have to start charging users for subscriptions or in-app purchases.
Facebook also said that 44% of small businesses increased their use of personalized advertising during the new coronavirus pandemic, citing a study by the consulting firm Deloitte. He also pointed out, in bold, a statistic that, without personalized advertising, an “average small business advertiser should see a 60% reduction in their sales for every dollar they spend.”
One blog post, Facebook explained that the number of 60% is more a long-term thing:
Our studies show that without custom ads based on their own data, small businesses could see a 60% reduction in sales on ad websites. We do not anticipate the proposed changes for iOS 14 to cause a complete loss of customization, but rather a move in that direction in the long run.
Facebook cited this statistic as resulting from its own internal research in small details. Facebook offered only two explanatory statements, saying it compared data from advertisers who used the type of data it says Apple wants to discontinue to those who didn’t:
To understand the impact on small and medium businesses, we compared the aggregate results of advertising campaigns in the Facebook app family, which used advertisers ‘own data to optimize purchases on advertisers’ websites, compared to the results. use only the data of the advertising platform. . The research analysis includes over 25,000 advertising campaigns worldwide in which advertisers optimized for purchases made in 2019.
When asked for more information about statistics, a Facebook spokesperson redirected Gizmodo to the blog post. Facebook did not immediately respond to a follow-up question about which apps involved testing or why they chose the specific subset of ads.
Apple has backtracked on Facebook, essentially accusing the company of being crap.
Earlier this year, it delayed the launch of the anti-tracking feature until 2021 to give developers more time to adjust. When he was criticized by privacy groups, he was sent a letter to the organs suggesting that Facebook was one of the developers that needed more time for the transition and accused its executives of seeking to “collect as much data as possible, both for primary and third-party products, for develop and monetize detailed profiles of their users, and this does not respect the privacy of users continues to expand to include more of their products. “