Anurag Chaudhary

iOS 14.5 update and its privacy giveaways Apple Inc rolled out iOS 14.5 this April with new security controls intended to restrict digital advertisers from tracking iPhone users. The embodiment of this privacy feature bolsters Apple's statement, "What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone," favouring data privacy. iOS 14.5 update is a nightmare for data-driven businesses, mainly Facebook. Amidst the choice left free to users, the future of personalised advertisement swings on a hinge of uncertainty. Let’s explore how and why: Apple’s move to restrict rampant abuse of user data Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature lets users choose between ‘Allow Tracking’ or ‘Ask app not to Track,’ privileging them to opt-out of tracking from all apps of concern. Users can choose to provide their consent to apps or deny at their will. Now it’s mandatory for application developers interested in gathering advertising identifiers from iPhone users, to put a pop-up on display, explicitly informing that the app ‘would need permission to track you across apps and websites owned by other organisations.’ This move is likely to enhance the data collectors’ interest in gaining consumer trust before processing personal information. Reformed state of advertisement For over 1 billion iPhone users, iOS 14.5-loaded security and privacy update introduced a pop-up notification in applications asking for users’ consent to personal information collection, smashing the intended purpose of converting data into revenue by tracking and personalising users’ browsing patterns across third-party apps and websites. These rules could introduce seismic changes to the $100 billion mobile advertising market given the majority of iPhone users decline data collection requests. In a situation when the marketers are taken aback, iOS users are at a great relief for privacy has just been redefined and returned as a right that must be exercised by the user itself. Some mobile advertising analysts predict that ‘only one out of three users is likely to grant such a permission.’ Both advertisers and developers have this notion that if the majority of iPhone users opt out of tracking, it may adversely affect the advertising industry. Also, the earning potential of small businesses from monetisation of ad inventory will drop significantly. It could trigger the fall of Facebook, they say! A diametrically opposite approach in Apple's and Facebook's business philosophies has brought the two Silicon Valley giants head-on. Apple makes money from selling gadgets, software & services, and not users’ personal data. Facebook, in contrast, is in the data business. The more information this social media giant gathers, the better it can sell targeted ads. Until now data collection and commerce came at a price borne by the user itself. But, with this privacy feature launched, Facebook may need to work out an all-new business model to stay put in business. Experts predict the advent of a premier tier in Facebook’s shelf down the line, as in the dearth of data its business operations would be short-lived. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg condemned Apple's new changes openly, saying they were explicitly set up to put Facebook in a tough spot. In the present situation, while Apple is busy stacking more protection features for the sake of users’ control over their personal data, Facebook is only seen to be appearing with new ads to influence users into sticking to the old way of data processing and treatment, only in a pursuit to save its business from an evident fall.