Apple’s Priority in Mobile
By: Jiho Chung
Scheduled for a mid-September release, the new iOS 14 features will include an emoji search, more user-friendly app library, and removal of the full-screen takeover when using Siri and calling someone among others. However, what’s been making waves in the advertising industry is its latest mobile privacy update: upon launch, iOS 14 will ask users to either continue allowing apps to track their personal data & mobile usage, or simply opt out.
Installed in most apps, the IDFA (Advertising Identifier) currently allows digital marketers to track specific user activity for personalized ads. Although Apple will still permit apps to collect anonymized data, marketers won’t be able to leverage key user insights such as site activity, user location, and e-commerce purchases. With over 100 million users in the United States, the tech world is being rocked with many concerned of users opting out, especially Facebook and Google both of which generate most of their revenue through advertising. For instance, Google has invested more than 1 billion dollars annually to make its search engine Apple’s default; and this can only massively inhibit data from organic & paid search to fuel its soon-to-be-once extraordinary ad targeting to an exponential degree.
With most Apple users not realizing how much apps track their mobile activity (especially when not using them), this is a step in the right direction with the consumer coming first. In a time when brands are being boycotted for their lack of attention or action to society’s needs, this couldn’t have arrived at a better time to further cement trust with us.
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