What’s going on between Facebook and Apple explained…

Apple has made a minor change to its latest iteration of the iOS operating system that will make it harder for the ad industry to track Apple users and provide them with targeted advertisements.

There are a number of technologies that the ad industry uses to track users and learn about their surfing habits for the purposes of serving them targeted advertisements. In the Apple eco-system, one of those technologies is called IDFA. That’s “Identifier for Advertisers”. It’s a unique number that Apple assigns any iPad or iPhone device that the advertising industry can access.

So if someone browses Bluetooth speakers from Amazon using their iPad, then Amazon can log that user’s IDFA number and pair it with information about their browsing on the Amazon app. Then that information can be shared via ad networks to other apps. So Facebook, for example, can pair the browsing information they get from Amazon and see if one of their own users has the same IDFA number. If they find a match, they can show targeted adverts to that user (i.e. adverts about Bluetooth speakers.)

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Basically, an IDFA number tells ad companies and apps a lot about the browsing history of a particular Apple device, without having to share personal information about the user.

Now of course, this technology relies on ad companies having access to a device’s IDFA number. That access is turned on by default, meaning users would need to dive into their settings to turn the setting off and revoke access (we call that opt-out.)

But a minor tweak to iOS and now the opposite is true. Each app will now need to ask for permission to access IDFA related information in order to show targeted adverts (opt-in.) If a user rejects this permission – and it’s expected that most will – then the app won’t have access to a device’s IDFA number, and consequently significantly less information about the user. The app can still show ads, of course, but they won’t be as targeted, and likely to earn far less revenue.

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Facebook, as you’d expect, earns lots of its money through targeted advertising. They’re not happy with Apple’s move to ask permission to be tracked on a “per-app” basis. They argue that not only will this adversely affect smaller apps looking to make money using adverts, but also adversely affect companies that advertise with Facebook that rely on Facebook’s laser targeted adverts to bring in customers.

Basically, they argue that advertising is what makes the Internet go round. And attempts at weakening that industry will be felt by smaller companies first.

And Facebook may very well be correct. But the reality is that many Internet surfers don’t want to be tracked as they hop from website to website, from app to app, in what is perceived to be a very murky industry.