How Will iOS 14’s Latest Policy Changes Affect Advertisers on Facebook?

In September 2020, Apple introduced iOS 14, the latest update for Apple devices. It’s one to be aware of, as it has the most significant policy changes for how your data can be accessed by businesses such as Facebook.

Apple announced that these changes would come into play in ‘early Spring’ and fast forward to 26th April 2021 and the long-awaited implementation of the iOS 14 policy changes are finally here with the latest iOS 14.5 update.

What’s Different After the New Update?

The most noticeable change will be when you first visit certain apps after the update on your Apple device: you will be welcomed with a message where you will be asked whether you want apps to track your activity. If you opt for the ‘do not track’ option, this doesn’t mean that you won’t be getting ads anymore; it simply means the ads shown will not be as tailored to you and your preferences as your data won’t be shared with advertisers and third-party data brokers.

How Is It Different for Advertisers?

Due to the new restrictions on data that advertisers can access, creating large and accurate audiences could prove to be difficult, which is just one of many obstacles that you may be facing when setting up ad campaigns in the near future.

The main issue will be for those publishing a large volume of app advertising campaigns. A few years ago, Apple introduced something called the ‘SKAdNetwork’ API in an attempt to increase the privacy of users who installed mobile apps and now the concept has become a reality – the SKAdNetwork API will now be used to restrict or delay all app event data. The reporting of events will also be delayed by up to three days after an app is installed.

How Will Advertising on Facebook Differ?

Another huge obstacle with iOS 14.5 is the new rule which means each domain is restricted to eight pixel events. Therefore, advertisers will only be allowed to choose eight events (add to cart, contact, purchase etc.) in their Business Manager for optimisation. It’s vital that when you’re choosing the events for your domain, you choose the ones that are most relevant to your business and its goals.

Finally, you may have already noticed this, but Facebook Business Manager has had a bit of a makeover — this is simply down to the fact that the interface for Facebook can’t be different for iOS and Android.

There is so much information to consume on this topic, it’s hard to keep up – the world of paid advertising is ever-changing, and this huge change from Apple will affect the way we advertise forever. If you’d like some expert advice or you’d even like our team to manage your Facebook Ads campaign, don’t hesitate to email hello@northernmediauk.com
or give us a call on 01924 367105.