Apple will release its next major operating system update, iOS 14.5, this week. The announcement was made during the company’s product announcement event on April 20.

While iOS updates are far from irregular occurrences, the digital marketing industry has been warily anticipating this particular tweak for months. That’s because iOS 14.5 will include something called ATT – App Tracking Transparency – which some advertising platforms believe will impact the effectiveness of their offering. Here’s how CNBC described the feature last week:

“After iPhone users install iOS 14.5, when they open any app that wants to access a device ID called the Identifier for Advertisers, or IDFA, they will see a pop-up. The pop-up will ask if they want to be tracked and give them an opportunity to opt in. Companies that rely online advertising, especially Facebook, have said that the privacy change will reduce the effectiveness and profitability of targeted ads and potentially roil the online advertising business.”

You can learn a bit more about Facebook’s opposition to the update here.

While Facebook is framing ATT as an assault on effective advertising, most tech companies have for years been working on strategies to deliver relevant, targeted advertising without exploiting user data. Google, for example, is actively moving away from third-party cookies and focusing instead on tactics like FLoC, a new kind of targeting algorithm that obscures individual data within large groups with shared interests.

In other words, despite Facebook’s warning, iOS 14.5 should be seen by the digital marketing industry as a positive step toward an advertising future where relevant ads and user privacy can seamlessly coexist. As a Google Premier Partner digital marketing agency, GrowthEngine Media believes that great digital advertising doesn’t have to rely on invasive data harvesting. Reach out today if you have questions or concerns about your program.

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