It’s been almost four months since Apple started rolling out its iOS 14.5 update.
Much like Google’s decision to deprecate third-party cookies from Chrome, Apple’s latest change has made the ID for Advertisers (IDFA) opt-in for users, meaning advertisers must have a user’s explicit consent before they can track their online behaviour.
Given the gradual rollout of the software onto millions of devices, it has been difficult to assess just how great of an impact these privacy-led changes have had on the industry.
Some reports have suggested opt-in rates for users consenting to ad tracking has been as low as 10 per cent, while social media platforms such as Snapchat and Twitter have seemingly shrugged off any major impact on ad revenue from Apple’s changes.
A central figure in the debate around iOS 14.5 has been Facebook, which has protested against the changes since they were first announced in 2020.
But the social media giant appears to have now accepted these new changes are here for good, and last week detailed its plans for the future of advertising on Facebook.
In a blogpost, Facebook Vice President, Product Marketing, Ads Graham Mudd outlined the “privacy-enhancing technologies” that would allow personalised ads to be delivered in-line with shifting privacy expectations.
While techniques such as contextual advertising are growing in popularity, Facebook still believes personalisation will drive the best results for advertisers.
“Without personalised advertising, businesses would be harder to start and grow, new products and services would be harder to discover and would cost more, and people would see less relevant, less timely and less interesting ads,” Mudd said.
“The free and open internet, including the news people read, the ways they communicate and the entertainment they watch, would become less accessible to those who can’t afford subscription services.”
One key solution for Facebook moving forward will be the Private Lift Measurement solution, which will use a new technology called ‘multi-party computation’ to help advertisers gain insights into how their campaigns perform, while still protecting user data.
Private Life Measurement will be widely available next year, Facebook said.
And while there are clearly new solutions in the pipeline, Mudd put the call out to the industry to come together and develop these proposals.
“Over the coming months, we’ll engage with clients, partners and the broader industry via educational events to discuss the next era of personalized experiences and the product proposals we hope to develop together. We will provide more details on these events and proposals soon,” he said.
“New technologies take time to develop, but we’re confident that through our ongoing work and engagement with the broader industry, we can build solutions that will support a free and open internet.”
