In its ongoing rivalry with Apple over transparency in tracking applications, Facebook has announced that it will encourage users to allow tracking with “additional context” on a dedicated screen, according to an updated blog post.
The App Tracking Transparency feature of iOS 14 will require developers to receive user consent to track their activity on apps and websites and access their device’s random advertising identifier. Users will receive a prompt with options to “Allow tracking” or “Ask the app not to track” when opening applications, such as Facebook, that they want to track their activities.
If a user selects “Ask the app not to crawl”, Apple will block the app developer from accessing the user’s advertising identifier. The developer must also respect the user’s tracking preference in general, which means that they cannot use other methods to track the user, or their app can be removed from the App Store.
After a series of violent public attacks on Apple in recent months, which in part claimed that App Tracking Transparency would harm small businesses, Facebook now appears to have changed its approach and is now actively encouraging users to “Allow tracking” .
As we reported in December, we disagree with Apple’s approach, but we will show your readiness to ensure stability for companies and people who use our services. Apple’s new prompt suggests that there is a trade-off between personalized advertising and privacy; when, in fact, we can and provide both. Apple’s prompt also does not provide context about the benefits of personalized ads.
Facebook will show users a screen on its app before Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt appears, offering information on how the company uses personalized ads, which say “support small businesses and keep apps free”. The company warned that users who refuse to be tracked “will still see the ads, but they will be less relevant”.
Agreeing to these requests does not result in Facebook collecting new types of data. It just means that we can continue to provide people with better experiences. We think people deserve the additional context, and Apple said offering education is allowed.
Facebook is now believed to be preparing a lawsuit against Apple over App Tracking Transparency, among other charges, which the company says is anti-competitive.