Apple outlined what the future is going to look like this week at its annual WWDC, announcing a slew of new, privacy-focused features that will form the new iOS 15 update.
After restricting the way apps collect data as part of the iOS 14.5 update (which has kicked in recently), Apple will now be making it harder for advertisers to track customers as they navigate the web, announcing a new VPN-like technology that will hide a user’s identity online and a solution that will hide emails and make it virtually impossible for advertisers to measure things like clickthroughs and open rates.
While these changes are set to have a big impact on the ad market, there are other changes that could send ripples through the industry.
Apple is making its new operating system more interactive and social, with big improvements to both FaceTime and iMessage.
iPhone users will now be able to make FaceTime calls with Android and Windows users, stream music and movies while on a call and share screen.
iMessage, meanwhile, will be making it easier to share links, music and Apple News articles.
These features might sound like fun improvements to Apple’s interface, but these social-focused solutions will ultimately serve as a way to entice users away from Facebook-owned products and further into Apple’s ecosystem.
With Apple’s highly-publicised stance on privacy, iPhone users can now access the same features available on Facebook and Instagram, without having to hand over the same data that comes with these platforms.
Apple doubled down on this in its official announcement, reminding everyone: “FaceTime calls on the web remain end-to-end encrypted, so privacy is not compromised”.
With Apple having already impacted Facebook’s ability to collect user data with its removal of the IDFA, these new iOS 15 changes could serve as a further blow to the social network.
It marks another chapter in the ongoing feud between the two companies.
Just this week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced it would not be taking a financial cut from creators until 2023, and went so far as to say “when we do introduce a revenue share, it will be less than the 30 per cent that Apple and others take”.
Facebook has also campaigned heavily against Apple’s iOS 14.5 changes in recent months, arguing that the changes to data collection will harm small businesses that rely on Facebook advertising.
Image: Apple
