Facebook parent company Meta is still bemoaning App Tracking Transparency, the “harmful” feature Apple introduced last year in iOS 14.5 to bolster the privacy of iPhone and iPad users.
The change is “making it harder and more expensive” for businesses to reach their customers, Meta said as advertisers reportedly slash their spending on Facebook and Instagram and turn to rivals like Amazon and Google instead.
Facebook can’t ignore Apple privacy improvements
Meta isn’t the only company that has criticized App Tracking Transparency on iPhone and iPad. But it has been the loudest. And when you look at the impact the feature is having on Meta’s bottom line, it’s easy to see why.
It revealed during its most recent earnings call that it expects to lose $10 billion in revenue this year alone as a result of Apple’s changes. The Wall Street Journal reports advertisers are spending their cash elsewhere.
Companies “are slashing their spending on Facebook and Instagram and sending their ad money to Google, Amazon.com Inc., Snap Inc. and other platforms,” reads the report, citing ad buyers and e-commerce companies.
Apple’s “privacy push appears to be the biggest threat to the social-media giant’s once ironclad grip on ad spending by small online businesses and e-commerce companies.”
Meta: Apple’s policy is harmful
“Apple’s harmful policy is making it harder and more expensive for businesses of all sizes to reach their customers,” read a Meta statement issued to WSJ. “We believe Facebook and Instagram remain the best platforms for businesses to grow and connect with people, and we’ll always keep working to improve performance and measurement.”
Apple obviously isn’t going to backtrack and remove App Tracking Transparency now that it’s baked into iOS. So, in addition to pleading with users to opt into app tracking, Meta is taking other steps to combat it.
The company is said to be developing new tools that it hopes will make its platforms more appealing to advertisers. Meta wants to prove that Facebook and Instagram are driving more sales than its analytics currently show.
