The Big Tech Fight: Why Facebook Isn’t Happy With Apple’s iOS 14.5

Apple has finally released its new iOS 14.5 to the public, and it is clear that Facebook is not happy about it. This new update will require all developers with apps in the app store to ask for permission from users to track their data while using the apps.

The significant privacy change in iOS 14.5 is the new feature that allows users to choose whether they want to share their data with apps. So, every app in the App store was tasked to make an update that involves requesting permission from users before tracking their data. 

App developers now have to explicitly let the users know the information they track and what they use it for. Apple argues that users need to be given a choice whether they want to be tracked or not. The expectation is that most users will likely choose not to be tracked. 

Facebook’s business model entirely relies on advertisements, and these advertisements have been made effective thanks to the massive amounts of data that Facebook collects. Facebook’s campaign manager lets you target users down to specific demo and geographics and even optimizes your ad to target certain purchaser groups. Without this data, Facebook Ads wouldn’t be as effective. 

Suppose Apple users opt-out from being tracked by Facebook and other apps. In that case, Facebook’s Ad market will be affected since most of their Ads will be irrelevant. This in turn reduces the conversions of the businesses that advertise on Facebook. When an Ad’s effectiveness reduces, these businesses will also likely reduce the budget for Facebook Ads and opt for other advertising options, leading to a decrease in Facebook’s overall revenue.. 

When Apple announced these changes, Facebook started running a campaign on all its platforms attacking Apple for being anti-competitive. Facebook went ahead and published a full-page article in popular newspaper platforms like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, which was titled, “We are standing up to Apple for small businesses.”

Facebook argued that the changes in iOS 14.5 would make Facebook Ads less effective and make operating small businesses more difficult. They quantify that these moves are anti-competitive and not meant to improve privacy, as Apple claims. 

However, this campaign has not gone well with Facebook because so many people seem to side with Apple. This is mainly because of Facebook’s bad track record in recent years when it comes to privacy.