Earlier this year, an iOS 14 update introduced the new app tracking transparency feature to give users more control over their privacy.
Now, Facebook has sent a very unusual message to investors saying that changes in Apple’s advertising continue to affect its business.
Graham Mudd, Facebook’s vice president of product marketing, posted a notice in a blog post published today.
Mudd indicates that Facebook has already warned of the potential impact Apple’s changes could have on advertising, But a message mid-quarter indicates that things aren’t looking up.
Many of you have heard that the impact on your advertising spending has been greater than expected. It is possible that the cost of getting your business results has increased and it has also become more difficult to measure your campaigns on our platform.
As we noted during our earnings conference call in July, we expected increasing headwinds from platform changes, especially recent iOS updates, to have a greater impact in Q3 compared to Q2. We know that many of you are experiencing this impact greater than we are.
Facebook has spoken publicly on several occasions about its concern about transparency in tracking apps. With this change, Apple requires developers to ask users for permission before tracking them on other apps and websites.
As expected, most users deny this permission, so apps like Facebook are blind to user activity in the Internet browser or other apps.
Facebook doesn’t regularly provide these types of updates outside of its end-of-quarter earnings conferences, so posting this message suggests the impact on the company’s bottom line will be greater than expected.
