Advertisers are starting to spend significantly more money when targeting Android users, thanks to the implementation of a framework by Apple, seriously affecting the amount of data companies can collect about users on iPhones and iPads.
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As reported by The Wall Street Journal, following the April release of the ATT, or App Tracking Transparency Framework, which requires all apps on iPhone and iPad to ask for users' consent before tracking their activity in other apps, advertisers have begun to reduce their spending on Apple's platform.
According to early data from ad measurement firm Branch Metrics Inc, less than 33% of iOS users allowed apps to track them across other apps. The remaining 67% of iOS users chose not to allow apps to track their activity. As a result, the amount of spend advertisers spent on Apple’s mobile platform fell by about a third between June 1 and July 1, while spending on Android rose more than 10% for the same month, according to ad measurement firm Tenjin Inc.
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One reason digital advertisers say they are spending less on Apple's mobile platform is due to a lack of "detailed data that made mobile ads effective on iOS devices and justified their pricing."
Without proper user tracking, advertisers have significantly less data about interests, preferences, and more. Advertisers and companies like Facebook use this data to build a user profile. The type of data collected from tracking helps advertisers ensure that their ads are targeted to potential customers. While many advertisers are affected by the ATT, Facebook has been the one to criticize the change the most.
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Since Apple began testing the framework, which shipped as part of the iOS and iPadOS 14.5, Facebook has accused Apple of hurting small businesses that rely on advertising as a means to stay open. Facebook also claimed that the framework was anti-competitive because, in its view, it gives Apple a head start on running its own advertising on iOS devices.
