The tech world is abuzz when Apple released its latest iOS update. It has created quite a stir, especially in Facebook’s camp, and caused a huge rift between the two tech giants.
Data Tracking and Privacy
Have you ever felt as if you were being spied on by your phone? Like instances where you’re only talking with your friend about where to get the best quality cell phone repair services and then when you log onto your social, you’re bombarded with ads of cell phone repair shops. Or were there times that you were browsing for some things online for either work, school, or leisure then you notice that all the ads you’re getting from several different platforms are related to what you were searching for previously?
That’s because Facebook, along with other different apps, analyzes, uses, and shares your data, including your age, location, browsing history, health information, and spending habits with advertisers. Several apps have embedded trackers that gather more data than necessary to share with data brokers and advertisers.
According to Apple, this has been occurring very frequently for quite some time now without the user’s permission or knowledge. This indirectly turns users into products that are traded by selling their information to companies.
Apple’s Latest iOS
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, has been heavily criticized by the Facebook camp for taking this route. However, even when former Apple head honcho Steve Jobs was alive, he has always taken a strong stand for user privacy, stating in 2010 that “privacy means people know what they’re signing up for.” He added that it should be clear and easy to understand and that companies should always ask permission first before gathering user data.
With that as their main premise, each Apple device has an IDFA or identification for advertisers. It is a special identifier that mobile ads companies, Facebook included, use to target ads to specific people.
With the very recent release of Apple’s latest iOS 14.5, iPhones and iPads will contain a special and unique feature that will require developers to explicitly ask users for permission to collect data from them. Its new App Tracking Transparency feature will come automatically with the latest iOS upgrade and will be turned on by default.
This new feature will allow users to control how they want to be tracked. And given the choice, many will probably prefer opting out of tracking.
Most recently, chief executive Cook threw some shade on Facebook when he said businesses that were built on misleading its users and on the exploitation of data should be reformed and not praised.
Why Facebook is Reacting
Facebook is fuming over the latest update and has been actively campaigning against it since December 2020. They went to the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post and ran full-page ads about how Apple’s latest concoction will greatly affect small businesses and consumers across the board.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also claims that not only will this move affect small businesses but Facebook’s operations as well. Zuckerberg also stated that in doing this, Apple will somehow force Facebook to start charging people to use the app. He is quoted as saying that they are committed to giving people quality service in order to sustain that, it has to be affordable to everyone.
Dan Levy, the one who’s in charge of Facebook ads, said that Apple is not really pro-privacy but pro-profit as this new update will force people to make in-app purchases and subscriptions to which Apple takes up to 30% in commission.
What Apple Cooked will Leave a Mark on Facebook
Facebook has been subject to some controversies concerning privacy, especially when the Cambridge Analytica scandal occurred where millions of personal data from Facebook users were gathered and used primarily for political advertising without their knowledge and consent.
What Apple has unleashed will definitely change the landscape of online advertising. Despite Facebook’s complaints against it, The Harvard Business Review says that the social media company’s claims that small businesses will see a cut of about 60% of sales from ads are misleading. It says that the impact will be, at best, modest.
Cook also said that Facebook can still track user data only this time, they need to ask permission first.
While the social networking giant has campaigned against it, they have also been preparing to roll with it. They promised users “new advertiser experiences and measurement protocols,” according to its blog.
How Apple’s latest iOS update will change the entire online advertising industry is something that we will see in the future. Advertisers will probably need to quickly adapt and evolve if they want to make the most out of this situation.
Meta title: A Look Into the Apple and Facebook Latest Rivalry
meta desc: It seems like the people behind Facebook is not a fan of Apple’s latest iOS update. Read on to find out why.
