Apple iOS 14.5 - The Biggest Change Since… iPhone
Originally published in Swedish in Dagens Media and IAB Sweden.
For almost a year now, Apple has been signalling that with the upgrade to iOS 14.5 they will remove support for their IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers). IDFA is a unique identifier specific to the iOS device, and is used by advertisers and applications for measuring iPhone users. Apple owns one of the world's most used devices (iPhone) and operating systems (iOS). They also own the App Store and the second largest browser, Safari.
The removal of current IDFA support with the next iOS upgrade signifies a major change, and affects mobile app makers and advertisers worldwide.
The date of the upgrade has not been announced by Apple, but should be soon and several beta versions have already been tested. The current suggestion is that the upgrade will be made available during the end of March / beginning of April 2021. Gradually, the effect will start to be felt from the launch date onwards. We already know from previous upgrades that a new upgrade for iOS will reach about 50% of all devices within two months (Statcounter Global Stats Jan-Feb 2021).
Who is affected by the biggest change so far in iOS?
Facebook is one of those who has announced that they will be negatively affected by the change. The IDFA restriction will limit the ability of Facebook and other "media" with app traffic to develop and maintain their advertising businesses.
The change affects both app companies and advertisers, since the opportunity for campaign follow-up, relevant creative, setting frequency levels etc. decreases or becomes impossible when an ID cannot be linked to these functions. The governance models that advertisers have used over the past 10-12 years to reach the right audiences, with the right message are about to fundamentally change.
Active decision by the user
It is logical and desirable to increase the controls around data, a process mainly driven by consumer protection through legislation. The limitation of how personal data is shared and used is also led by industry and several large tech companies. Apple has been clear that the background to this change has obvious privacy reasons. It is likely that Apple's decisions are multifaceted, as is well known, Apple has several horses in this race.
When the user upgrades their iPhone to iOS 14.5 and opens an application, you are greeted by a popup question:
The question of whether or not to share your data is clear. What the user has to decide is, in exchange for content, services and relevance, whether to offer the application and its advertisers their personal data.
There is a risk of "consent fatigue". Of course, those of us who live in an EU country know how often we are asked about the use of personal data. IAB's TCF 2.0 with the approved consent management platforms (CMPs) in use today had been judged to be a way for applications to take in this consent as well. Apple has chosen a different path and simply asks if the visitor agrees that the application uses visitors' data for tracking.
We will need to learn the internet again
Magnite’s CTO Tom Kershaw recently described in a talk what we are heading towards:
“It is important that we all take note of what is about to happen, that we as an industry literally rebuild the internet from the ground up again. The work we are doing right now, it will fundamentally change how sites and applications work, how they make money and how they interact with their consumers. For all parties involved, on the buying and selling side and everyone in between, there can be nothing more important than finding the solutions now and working them out together.
“In a privacy-first world, we will need to replace many things we have taken for granted in digital advertising over the past ten years. It is not a surprise, we have known about it for a long time.
“That Apple and browsers are taking steps towards increased privacy is not something new. Apple and Firefox started removing support for third-party cookies a couple of years ago. It also became clear that IDFA and other MAIDs (mobile IDs) would disappear and be replaced with new systems. Those systems must be based on a combination of consent and first-party data. And, the first instance that the consumer has a relationship with is the publisher / application. They are the ones who actively have the opportunity to communicate with their users about why their data has a value and what the value exchange consists of.
“Such a big change as that we are now seeing naturally creates a concern about how competitive my application will be and whether my advertisers can find their target groups as effectively as before.
“The solution is based on us as an industry jointly building models to cope with a new reality. This means that buyers and sellers must work together and jointly build systems that will work from the time the visitor uses an application or site until the ad is served.”
How do I prepare?
IAB Australia asked a handful of actors about possible scenarios and advice on how to deal with this new reality. The checklist in summary:
CPMs on Android have increased, several advertisers have already made the switch from iOS to Android. This indicates that advertisers are insecure and want continuity and measurability.
For iOS, the shift is likely to mean CPMs go down. One possible scenario is that over time they begin to rise again when advertisers learn how the new environment works.
Update a p-list file with SKAdnetwork ID, similar to app-ads.txt. SKAdNetwork allows advertisers to measure the effectiveness of app installation campaigns without the ability to track individual users. More about SKAdNetwork later in the article.
Update all SDKs used for some form of revenue generation to the latest versions, which support the iOS IDFA update.
Ensure that all important parameters are filled in the ad call: (App bundle, app store URL, user gender, age, keywords, location (country, postal code, and GPS-based lat / long) and device info (OS, make, and model ).
Have an active dialogue with your users about the value exchange that takes place between users and applications. Explain the connection between relevant ads and customized content in relation to the application knowing more about its visitors. Makes it easier for users to make a more balanced decision.
Perform tests:
Regarding timing, when in the user session is someone most likely to opt-in?
On different messages to the user, with different tones for the opt-in prompt.
On different versions of the application, different target group and different geographies.
Important! Apple only allows the application to display the opt-in prompt for each user once during their lifecycle. The application is free to choose when it wishes to do this. It is more likely that users will give their consent when they are most engaged in the content, and the app's value is already proven. Apple also allows publishers to customize some of the message in the opt-in prompt. All testing is done before the final prompt is presented.
What SKAdNetwork adds
The SKAdNetwork function is relatively new - why is it interesting? Marcus Johansson, founder and CEO of BidTheatre gives an explanation:
“SKAdNetwork is the name of Apple's solution for attribution in a world without personal identifiers like IDFA. The effect seems to be that a mobile ad has led to the installation of an app, but may also involve other types of conversion goals. The flow is based on ad buyers registering with Apple, registering their ads, and preparing to receive calls from Apple on a "callback" when a conversion has taken place. Through this call, the ad buyer can conclude which ad was behind the conversion, without the user sharing an identifier. Cryptographic keys ensure that conversions are attributed to the right ad and ad buyer.
More background on SKAdNetwork.
What happens now?
Apple's App Store Review Guidelines allow few opportunities to provide additional incentives for opt-in or restrict access to users who do not opt-in.
The change does not necessarily have to be the apocalypse that has been feared. Apps still have a unique relationship with their users, and no one is better placed to describe the value exchange.
It is likely that many users would choose to opt in if the value exchange were clear, and they felt secure with how their data is being handled. A strong enough share of opt-ins would allow applications to continue being free, and arguably also enable better and more relevant ads.