Facebook notifies businesses using its service that the social media giant has no choice but to comply with Apple's privacy feature requirements.
Apple is set to implement fully its App Tracking Transparency feature in iOS 14 soon. As a result, developers with iOS apps should disclose to users how they track them, how they use their data, what data links to the users, and which are not linking to them. Initially, social media giant Facebook resisted the idea and launched a massive campaign berating Apple about its decision. However, after much uproar, mostly coming from top officials of Facebook, the social media giant yields and finally notifies businesses that it has no choice but to comply with Apple as regards its privacy feature requirements.
However, it seems the social media giant is getting panicky about the upcoming privacy changes in Apple's iOS 14. Today, Facebook sent emails to businesses telling them the company has no choice but to comply with the privacy details requirement in Apple's iOS 14 App Tracking Transparency feature. Apple made it clear at the outset that failure to comply with its privacy feature requirements could result in the complete removal of the Facebook app from the App Store.
According to a report filed by online news outlet iMore, Facebook sent another set of emails to different businesses and informed them that although it does not agree with the Cupertino tech giant's planned changes, it has no choice now but to follow. Facebook states that the App Tracking Transparency feature, which will require users to agree to their being tracked across other apps and websites, will have "hard-hitting implications across targeting, optimization, and measuring campaign effectiveness." Nevertheless, Facebook admits it has no choice but to comply with Apple's privacy feature requirements. While Facebook said in the past that "personalized ads and user privacy can coexist," a belief also shared by Apple, perhaps the two companies may have different interpretations of what is meant by "user privacy."
Apple has been informing developers since last year that all their apps in the App Store should display to iOS 14 users a prompt, asking for consent about ad tracking and targeting. Facebook said that the only entity that stands to benefit from the changes is Apple, while the rest will suffer. The social media giant also said that Apple's privacy feature requirements would hurt the ability of businesses of various sizes to market themselves efficiently and have the chance to grow through personalized ads. As Facebook told businesses, however, it has no choice but to comply with Apple's privacy requirements, which include showing users the prompt.
