Apple to Delay Privacy Change that Threatens Facebook, Mobile Ads

Tech giant Apple announced that it will delay changes to its privacy policy that could reduce ad sales on Facebook and other companies targeting users on iPhones and iPads until early next year.

Reuters reports that Apple announced earlier this week that it plans to delay changes to its privacy policy until next year. The move could reduce ad sales by Facebook and other companies that target users on iPhones and iPads.

The delay will likely benefit Facebook which last week claimed that the changes to the iOS 14 operating system would render one of its mobile advertising tools “so ineffective on iOS 14 that it may not make sense to offer it.”

Apple announced new privacy rules in June that were set to take effect when its iOS 14 operating system launched this fall. One of the rules is that advertisers who employ an Apple-provided tracking identifier must now show a pop-up notification asking users for tracking permission.

Facebook stated last week it would stop using the tool that requires a prompt in its own apps but did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Apple stated on Thursday that developers will still have the option to use the prompt when iOS 14 arrives.

Apple said in a statement: “When enabled, a system prompt will give users the ability to allow or reject that tracking on an app-by-app basis. We want to give developers the time they need to make the necessary changes, and as a result, the requirement to use this tracking permission will go into effect early next year.”

Digital advertising firms will have space in the notification to explain why they are requesting tracking permissions but it is expected that most users will decline to grant the permission.