Earlier in June, Apple announced several new privacy updates for iOS at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this year, including a feature called App Tracking Transparency that would require people to opt into apps collecting their data rather than needing them to opt-out.
This update threatens to uproot several ad-tracking features including Facebook. In September, Apple decided to delay the feature’s rollout to 2021 so developers could have more time to make the necessary changes to their privacy policies. In line with this Apple has also introduced recording indicators through an orange dot on your status bar that will tell you when your camera or microphone is activated.
But Facebook has been pushing back on the new Apple privacy rules for its mobile devices, Facebook, and the businesses who use it for marketing, rely on data tracking to target users with personalized advertising. Facebook has warned investors in August that Apple’s privacy changes could hurt its business.
Facebook has said that limiting how personalized ads can be used does impact larger companies, but these changes will be devastating to small businesses. In ads that ran in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other national newspapers, Facebook said Apple’s new rules limit businesses’ ability to run personalized ads and reach their customers effectively.
Apple has defended its tracking changes and the updated privacy policy by saying they provide users with more control. While Apple hasn’t responded yet to the newspaper ads, the company did respond to similar claims made by Facebook earlier. Apple is geared to enforce its privacy policy from early 2021.
This new full-page newspaper ad is the latest in the list of public disagreements between the two giants over privacy and policies.