A few weeks ago, Apple rolled out its latest iOS14 update to all iPhone users. Before you stop reading and say, “So what? I get a ton of updates to my phone, and it’s no big deal,” I implore you to read on. While simple phone updates are regularly pushed out, this one impacts how you do business and how businesses market to you while you’re online, especially when it comes to your Facebook ads.
The big deal with the recent update is that Apple will now notify users of any “tracking” done by apps according to their definition. The new policy will prohibit certain data collection and sharing unless people opt into tracking on their iOS14 devices. This will affect ad performance as more people opt-out of being tracked, limiting ad personalization and performance.
As for pixel users, in response to this update, Facebook has created a sort of aggregated event management workaround to continue measuring specific analytics without getting in trouble with Apple’s stricter privacy settings. It requires a bit of work, and you have to verify your website domain, but you’ll be able to continue using your pixel.
For marketers, the vast ad possibilities may come to a quick halt as it relates to iOS14 users, but there are still ways you can prepare.
TIP: Before these attribution windows go away, make sure you take note of your past ad performance and download any historical data you may need in the future.
As more people opt out of the iOS14 tracking, the size of your app connections, custom audiences, and website custom audiences may decrease.
In short, the new iOS14 update is excellent news for those concerned about privacy on their Apple devices. However, it’s a bit of bad news for us marketers who use tracking to deliver leads to our clients. Furthermore, the limitations of analytical reporting will likely make a difficult case for substantial ad spending in the future.
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Sincerely,
Anna Teal
Anna is an author and writer who is passionate about the art of storytelling. She enjoys connecting with small businesses in her community while taking their marketing efforts to the next level of growth.
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