Facebook vs Apple: Why Facebook Is Pushing Back Against the iOS 14 Update
This isn’t the first time the two tech giants have publicly clashed.
Since the first release of the iOS 14 update, last September, everyone from Gen Zers on Tik Tok, to major tech publications have been talking about the iPhone’s revamped operating system. But unlike most of Apple’s previous major software upgrades, in addition to getting major news coverage, this one seems to be sending one brand in particular (or maybe one person in particular?) into a bit of a tailspin. Enter, Mark Zuckerburg.
It’s no secret Facebook hasn’t been too happy about the new security feature Apple introduced as part of the iOS 14 update (most likely because Facebook made sure it wasn’t a secret, but more on that later). Apple has since delayed the implementation of this feature and is now expected to roll it out sometime in mid- to late-spring, 2021. But all this has done is give more time for Facebook to… freak out? Let’s break it down.
First, it’s important to note the very different, and often opposing, business models the two tech giants have. In particular, the way they manage customer data. Quoted from an article on TheHustle.com:
Apple: Sells high-priced hardware and controls the entire experience (with an emphasis on privacy).
Facebook: Offers free (ad-supported) social and communication tools to billions of users.
The biggest difference, here, being high-priced vs. free. But Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, doesn’t think the price of entry to use Facebook’s services is free. He thinks users are technically paying with their privacy, and over the years he has criticized Facebook for “monetizing its customers” and “collecting gobs of data.”
In a 2018 interview with MSNBC, Cook slammed Facebook saying, “Privacy is a human right, it’s a civil liberty.” He also later went on to say, “the truth is, we [Apple] could make a ton of money if we monetized our customers… [but] we’ve elected not to do that.”
This was right around the time when the Cambridge Analytica scandal was all anyone was talking about, so I’m sure it was already a topic of discussion during this particular interview, but Cook did not mince words here, and he certainly did not miss an opportunity to take a dig at Facebook.
Shortly after that interview, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, responded by saying Cook’s criticism was “extremely glib” and “not at all aligned with the truth.”
Clearly, this little feud has been going on for a while now, so keep that in mind as we break down 1. what security updates Apple is actually making, and 2. Facebook’s reaction to them.
What is Apple Doing?
In June of 2020 at the World Wide Developers Conference, Apple announced its intention to implement a “nutrition label” or privacy disclosures to provide more transparency around iOS app data collection, on every app available in the App Store, with the iOS 14 update. What that means for app developers (such as Facebook) is that they would be required to define exactly which information their app will collect on the user. This could be financial data, contact info, browsing history, even online purchase history. And not only that, it would require users to opt-in to sharing this data with the app, rather than the default being that you’re opted-in simply by downloading the app, and then have to go digging around in your settings to opt-out.
These changes, included in the iOS 14 update, which were designed to increase user security and privacy, will actually dramatically impact the reliability and usefulness of IDFAs or The Identifier for Advertisers. IDFAs are the individual and random identifiers used by Apple to identify and measure iOS user devices, and this identifier is what Facebook uses to both track and measure an ad’s performance, as well as allow advertisers to target specific users based on their mobile activity.
So, in a nutshell, Apple wants more transparency from app developers, and to provide more privacy and security for their users. Now let’s talk about Facebook’s reaction to all of this.
Facebook’s Reaction
In order to give you some context as to why Facebook reacted (and is continuing to react) the way they did, we need to talk a little bit about how Facebook ads work.
The Facebook ads ecosystem works like an auction where advertisers, essentially, bid on an impression. Advertisers are paying Facebook to show their ad to as many people as possible within a certain audience. So, as an advertiser, I could say to Facebook, “I want you to show my ad to as many small business owners, in this location, with these specific interests, as possible.” (Note: you don’t literally call Facebook and say this, you “tell” them your desired targeting by setting up an audience in the Ads Manager dashboard). In order for Facebook to reliably complete this task, and get an ad in front of the right people, it requires them to have “gobs” of data on all of their users. And that data needs to be accurate, up to date, and trackable.
Advertisers also have the ability to select specific placements for their ads. Placements are where an ad actually shows up, for instance, desktop newsfeed, mobile newsfeed, Facebook stories, and Instagram stories are all placements. In addition to on-Facebook placements, Facebook also has what’s called an Audience Network which is an off-Facebook, in-app advertising network for mobile apps. Advertisers can select for their ad to be shown within this Audience Network allowing their ad to show up in other places their audience may be like gaming or news apps.
However, if mobile users are able to start opting out of sharing their data with these apps (and in turn, the IDFAs) then the data Facebook collects becomes less reliable and they’d no longer be able to accurately track ad performance, or provide precise targeting across their Audience Network.
So, when Facebook heard these changes were coming, it’s understandable that they didn’t take it too well, but I don’t think anyone was expecting… well, this:
Since Apple’s first announcement in June of 2020 at the World Wide Developers Conference, Facebook has:
- Released multiple announcements on their website addressing the impacts these changes will have on “small businesses.”
- Taken out not one, but two, full-page newspaper ads in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
- Launched a Speak Up For Small campaign, claiming “small businesses deserve to be heard” and giving small business owners a place to speak their minds. Complete with video recordings of small business owners expressing their fears about no longer being able to use targeted ads to reach new customers and expand their business.
- And finally, they have started warning advertisers directly at the source, in Ads Manager, with an on-screen popup explaining “How Apple’s Changes May Significantly Limit Your Marketing Efforts.” With a link to “Learn More” that takes you to yet another announcement about how these changes will impact personalized ads and small businesses.
As a small business owner myself, I have to admit all these warnings from Facebook have made me a little nervous. Not only have I spent the majority of my career, in marketing, managing my client’s Facebook ads, but I also rely heavily on the use of Facebook ads to expand my audience and find new customers for my own business.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my years managing hundreds of Facebook ad campaigns, it’s that Facebook is uniquely good at adapting to changes in access to customer data precisely like the one they’re facing now. In fact, they’ve had to do it multiple times already. Most notably in 2018 after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and again a short time later with the introduction of the GDPR by the European Union. And given the very publicly-tense relationship between Facebook and Apple, one can reasonably assume that this alarming reaction from Facebook may have more to do with a blow to someone’s ego than anything else.
For more on this topic and my take on what this really means for small business owners, watch my full video.
