The day is approaching when Apple will transform the advertising industry ecosystem

At the developer event WWDC in June 2020, Apple announced a policy change to prohibit apps from collecting personal information without the user's permission. This was a powerful change that would destroy the existing digital advertising industry ecosystem, and was postponed due to public criticism, but December 14, 2020. On Sunday, Apple has taken a step towards this change and announced that it will 'allow users to see the app's information gathering before downloading it.'

Apple's seismic change to the mobile ad industry draws near
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/15/apples-seismic-change-to-the-mobile-ad-industry-draws-near.html

Apple will now show how apps collect and use your data | NextPit
https://www.nextpit.com/apple-app-store-data-collection

There is something called an advertisement identifier on iPhones and smartphones, and by using this advertisement identifier, users are identified and Internet advertisements suitable for each are displayed. It has been found that targeted advertising using ad identifiers makes it possible to display pinpoint ads tailored to the user's interests and preferences, and is more likely to lead to purchases.

However, it has long been pointed out that targeted advertising collects personal information of users and is problematic from the viewpoint of privacy. Therefore, Apple has changed the specifications of the advertising identifier and IDFA installed in the iPhone, and from iOS 14 that appeared in the fall of 2020, the advertising company will not be able to use IDFA unless the user allows the application to collect IDFA. I announced that it will be.

This is a policy change that has a huge impact on advertising companies like Facebook. Facebook's advertising business has grown with targeted advertising using IDFA, so in August 2020 Facebook told advertisers and companies that the revision of the iOS 14 privacy policy made targeting advertising difficult and generated advertising revenue. It will decrease sharply. '

Facebook warns that 'iOS 14 privacy policy revision will make targeted advertising difficult and will drastically reduce advertising revenue' --GIGAZINE

After that, Apple received great complaints from publishers, developers, Facebook, etc. and decided in September to 'postpone the policy change until 2021'.

iOS 14's 'Allow ad tracking' feature is expected to be postponed-GIGAZINE

And on December 14th, Apple added a new developer page, 'The App Store uses data that the app may collect on the product page and data for tracking before users download the app. You will be able to check if it is. ' This change also applies to apps developed by Apple.

App privacy labels now live on the App Store --News --Apple Developer
https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=3wann9gh

There is still time before the change to opt- in ad tracking is implemented, and developers and advertising companies are struggling to come up with a way to collect user information. Before the ad tracking opt-in screen is displayed, there was a plan to display 'How important is information gathering for developers and profitable for users', but Apple has given users permission to track. We have taken steps to ban developers from using wording that encourages them.

This attitude of Apple has been criticized by advertising companies, and Sergio Serra, product manager of advertising company InMobi, said, 'Apple is a way for third parties to monetize without providing alternatives to publishers and marketers. It has been abolished. ' Also, since Apple did not publish clear information about the new policy at the time of writing, Mike Brooks of advertising company WeatherBug explained how to collect IDFAs at the risk of policy violations for app developers and advertising companies. It is pointed out that it will be devised.

Meanwhile, Firefox developer Mozilla appreciates Apple's stance, saying that Apple's anti-tracking feature will be of great benefit to consumers. Mozilla is also signing Apple's support for anti-tracking protection, saying it 'needs more help with anti-tracking' following Apple's postponement of the policy change.

Mozilla Foundation --Apple's anti-tracking plans for iPhone
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/campaigns/apples-anti-tracking-plans-iphone/