As Apple Inc. moves forward with long-promised plans to make it harder to target certain iPhone users with ads, advertising companies and software developers are preparing for major disruptions in the $ 400 billion digital advertising industry.
Facebook Inc., game companies and advertising technology providers are evaluating a variety of responses, including updated payment models, new advertising techniques and notifications to users. In China, social media apps have tested a possible workaround that would continue to track users’ digital footprints.
Changes to Apple’s iPhone software – part of what the company describes as an application tracking transparency initiative designed to protect user privacy – will allow users to decide whether to allow applications to track them for targeted ads. The iPhone maker first announced the plan in June and intended to implement it in September, before delaying that schedule until 2021 to give partners more time to prepare.
Many of those affected have expressed opposition to the plan for months. But with the change expected in the coming weeks, they are now preparing for it and weighing the potential impacts.
“Most people are resigned to the reality of this,” said Eric Seufert, a strategist and consultant who has conducted several workshops on the subject for developers and advertising technology companies. “I don’t think anyone thinks there is any kind of agency here to change things or institute an alternative solution.”