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Apple continues its march for user privacy.
If you don’t follow the tech or digital marketing space, you probably missed Apple’s announcement this past summer about mobile device tracking. Apple is switching from an opt-out to an opt-in approach for 3rd party mobile data tracking. I applaud Apple for taking this approach as it puts us, the consumer, first in our decision to give up our data.
This proposed change was supposed to roll out with the launch of iOS14 this fall. Due to pushback from mobile developers (er I mean advertisers), Apple delayed the change until sometime in “early 2021”. I bet we could see the roll out as soon as January.
So what does this change mean to you? If you use a mobile device and marketing-supported apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, or any app, it’s HUGE! We can finally say goodbye to those creepy ads that follow us or seem to have mysteriously listened to our conversations.
Technically speaking, every mobile advertiser like Facebook captures your data and shares it with other marketers. At the heart of this, mobile tracking is something called an IDFA – Identifier for Advertisers. Each app captures a unique IDFA for your device and does so without your permission.
You could have dug into your privacy settings and turned off this tracking, but no one did or even knew it was there. But thanks to Apple, that will all change soon. When they flip the switch, this will warn every iPhone user about each app that tracks them, with a simple way to opt-in; no one will. And Facebook is freaking out!
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Facebook’s business model depends on mobile advertising, and almost all of its revenue comes from ads using this technology. I estimate that less than 10% of consumers will opt-in for this evasive tracking when given a chance.
Just search the headlines for Facebook and IDFA. You will see attack after attack from Facebook. The most recent one is trying to use “small business” as their shield, but don’t let their sympathetic cries fool you. The enormous ad dollars, from “big money” in marketing, all rely on this technology. It’s not called “Big Data” for nothing, and it’s certainly not an exclusive small business feature.
But wait, you don’t use an iPhone, so what does that mean for you? For starters, your IDFA is being given out by Android just the same. And, I bet this will force Google to follow Apple’s lead. Just like Apple’s Safari web browser industry-leading action to block 3rd party tracking cookies forced Google Chrome to follow suit. So hope is probably just a year or so away.
Do you think this is a good move? Do you applaud Apple’s stance on moving privacy into your hands and away from the greedy marketers?
