Why The iOS 14 Apple Privacy Policy Update Matters for Marketers

Have you noticed a new pop-up on your Apple phone when you open apps that looks like this? 

This new Apple iOS 14 update is important for marketers to be aware of because it impacts the data we are able to compile from potential customers across these apps. In this blog, we break down what the update is and how marketers can navigate this in your Facebook campaigns. 

What is the Apple iOS 14 Update?

Apple’s carrier update for search and privacy relates to its updated privacy and data sharing policies. This update gives users the transparent option to opt-out of sharing information with apps. Although Apple users could turn off this sharing manually in settings this update makes this decision very clear with this pop-up when opening an app. This update applies to all apps in the App Store, including our favorite Facebook-owned apps. 

This has created some confusion around how this will affect marketing on these apps if users continue to deny sharing information on how they are engaging on the apps. Although from a user standpoint, it is very transparent and seems like a great update, we marketers are starting to see the long-term impacts for audience targeting on mobile. 

How will this affect marketers on Facebook?

Currently, Facebook pixels are the most popular way to track user activity on a website including different types of actions like adding items to a cart or visiting a landing page. The Apple privacy policy update limits marketers to eight pixel objectives on a single domain. This can significantly reduce the amount of data you collect if you have many pixel objectives.

If users decide not to be tracked by Facebook, it can affect the amount of data but also your budget. Ad spend may become less efficient and more expensive since there aren’t as many people to target. So you may also see this change when reporting in future months. Although this may affect your campaigns moving forward, there are a few ways to set your campaigns up for success around this update.

How can we optimize our current Facebook Campaigns?

Segment Audience Targeting by Andriod and iOS

By targeting Android and iOS users separately you can make sure you have accurate data for Android users since the Apple privacy policy update only impacts data from Apple users. This can help you get a better understanding of the campaign audiences by looking at Android performance. 

Prioritize Events

Since you will be limited to eight pixel events per domain, make sure you have your most important conversion points running.

Verify Your Domain and Conversions API

In preparation for this update, Facebook is asking you to verify your domain to prevent the misuse of ad accounts. To verify your domain is relatively easy. Log in to your Facebook Business Manager account, scroll to Brand Safety, select Domains and copy your domain into the pop-up. 

Enable Value Optimization (VO)

Since this update will impact how many users you are able to target overall, Facebook updated the Value Optimization for ad delivery. Testing this with your campaigns can help you show your ads more effectively.

Integrate Independent Tracking 

Although there may be some efficiency loss with this update for your campaigns. Marketers can still get creative with different bid types, audience definitions, and events to add to your campaigns to test out. 

In conclusion, the Apple ios 14 updates will impact Facebook campaign performance and will take a little finagling to move around this update. Although this may limit our data and connection to audiences, Facebook is still a great way to reach the perfect customer for many businesses. If you are interested in how this could impact you and your business, we can help answer your questions and help build your campaigns for success! Contact us today and let us know how we can help.