15 Jul New iOS 14 Update Prohibits Data Tracking

How Apple’s latest update will impact advertising

Apple has announced changes with the iOS 14 update that prohibits data tracking across apps and websites owned by other companies unless people opt-in to tracking on iOS 14 devices via the prompt. This prompt will appear on every app on their phone as the app is opened post update. As more people opt-out of tracking, audience sizes are expected to decrease and ad personalization, tracking and performance reporting will be limited for web conversion events. This update is expected to make an impact on all digital platforms.

The following information is how Facebook anticipates the iOS 14 update will impact campaigns at the time of the update:

• Tracking & Retargeting – When someone opts out of tracking, that person will not be tracked once they land on any landing page on the website. Activity will not be recorded and therefore data will not be collected on this person to retarget. As a result, audience sizes will be reduced. Therefore, tracking and retargeting will be limited to actions only taken on the ad (i.e. video views, clicks, impressions, reach).
• Audience Network – Depending on how many people opt out of tracking, the Audience Network (most known as in-app placements within games) may render so ineffective that offering it on iOS 14 might not make sense in the future. If Audience Network goes away, the reach/impressions/clicks gained from this placement will decrease.
• Event Limitations – A single domain is limited to 8 conversion-based events, so identifying and prioritizing those will be a must. (Conversion-based events are actions like “add to cart”, “schedule an appointment”, “submit a form”, etc.)
• Reporting Limitations – Advertisers could see data reporting delayed up to 3 days, meaning real-time reporting will not be as readily available. Additionally, advertisers will need to wait 3 days to gain reporting against the newly prioritized events if one of these orders are changed. Furthermore, the default setting for active ad campaigns will be a 7-day click attribution window. 28-day click-through, 28-day view-through, and 7-day view-through will no longer be supported for active campaigns. This means that any activity a user makes on an ad and on the website will only be recorded for 7 days, as opposed to 28.

Although there are still several unknowns regarding the update, the following are options available from Facebook to help mitigate the effects of the iOS 14 update:

• Verify your domain in Facebook Business Manager – Facebook is recommending that all advertisers verify their domain(s) to ensure no immediate or future disruption in the ability of that business to configure conversion events for their domain.
• Identify 8 conversion events – Facebook introduced Aggregated Event Measurement to support measurement of web events from iOS 14 users. Prioritize events based on what metrics are most important to the business. It is recommended to prioritize based on the last intended action.
• First Party Data – This will be critical to mitigating the effects of the update. Any and all information that can be collected via the website can be used to retarget.
• Set Up A Manual Advance Matching (MAM) Pixel – Upon manually installing the pixel on the website through a developer, the pixel will be able to automatically track audiences based on first party data. Because users are only opting out of sharing information between other websites and apps, not within the platform (Facebook), information about the user that happens on the website can still be shared and matched to Facebook when the user provides that info. With MAM, that information can be taken from that event and automatically be paired within Facebook, allowing ads to be retargeted based on events as usual.
• Set Up A Conversion API Pixel – Conversion API allows advertisers to view the full customer journey as well as improve accuracy of events. This information is not shared with Facebook, but advertisers can track this within Events Manager to see the full customer journey and use that information to improve future campaigns.

With Apple’s new iOS 14 update, more people are predicted to opt-out of tracking. However, there are still avenues that advertisers can take to maximize their advertising potential with this new update. If you need help navigating this new landscape, contact Crystal directly at 248.594.5347 or click here to get started.