The technology giant will allow users more transparency over who and what is tracking their data, with the option to opt some apps out of collecting this data altogether. However, as we’ll explain in this post, this may affect how advertisers use Facebook in the future.

On the surface, it may seem like this is a fair move on Apple’s behalf. They appear to have their users’ best interests in mind - protecting their data from being stored, shared and sold by third-party websites. For advertisers, however, Apple’s crucial new policy change could prove detrimental.

What is iOS14 and Why Is It A Problem For Facebook?

Apple’s latest major operating system update was released in September 2020 but will become mandatory in March 2021. While the updates bring plenty of updated features and aesthetic changes, it also implements a drastic security policy change that has Facebook concerned. Apple’s Tracking Transparency framework will prompt users to allow or deny a third-party app to track their data both while using the app and offline. It’s expected that more than 50% of iOS users will opt-in to this notification. This directly impacts and limits Facebook’s personalisation and performance, making it more difficult for advertisers to understand and accurately promote to specific audiences.

How is Facebook Reacting?

Facebook has reacted quite publicly and negatively toward Apple’s new policies. In an extensive blog post, Facebook expresses retaliation to Apple for “not playing by their own rules.” Facebook has stood by small businesses, which rely on the platform to advertise their goods and services. While Facebook has vehemently disagreed with Apple on this unprecedented change, they have no choice but to react accordingly to its many disadvantages.

What Will Change?

For Facebook users who opt-in to Apple’s Tracking Transparency framework, their experience on the social media platform will be less streamlined. These users will be presented with ads that are less targeted and personalised to their online behaviour. Simply, this is due to Apple not allowing Facebook to store, track and share a user’s data for advertisers to utilise. As a result, there will be fewer conversions as Facebook isn’t serving ads it thinks you will potentially be interested in and click on.

For Facebook advertisers, a handful of backend algorithms and resources will be changed. Facebook is proactively updating advertisers with best practices and actions to take in order to prepare their current and future campaigns. Here’s a comprehensive list of what tools are changing and what you should be doing to your accounts to ensure continued optimisation and strong performance:

• Domain verification is essential for all domains with active Pixels used by multiple ad accounts. Verifying your domain ensures there is no disruption to your campaigns when iOS14 becomes mandatory in March
• Aggregated Event Management is a new tool found in Events Manager designed to measure campaign performance in a way that’s consistent with your consumers’ decisions about their data. Facebook will limit the number of conversion events to 8 per domain. If you currently track more than 8 events, use the Aggregated Event Management tool to prioritise which conversions are most important to your marketing objectives. Prepare an action plan now so to avoid ad sets being paused immediately
• Certain attribution windows will no longer be supported, making ad performance analysis more difficult and overall reporting further delayed. Facebook will sunset the 28-day click-through, 28-day view-through and 7-day view-through attribution windows. Ad sets will now be automatically built with the default 7-day click-through, 1-day view-through attribution. In anticipation of this change, advertisers should use the Comparing Windows feature to compare reporting across different attribution windows. It’s also recommended advertisers calculate your delayed attribution multipliers to understand which percentage of your conversions occur after 7 days. Understanding the customers’ journey will better prepare you these newly restricted reporting periods
• Shopify and other e-commerce store advertisers should implement CAPI (Conversions API) right now

App Advertisers Are Also Affected

App ads are a niche area of Facebook advertising, but will still be impacted by Apple’s new data security policy. Users of the Facebook SDK for iOS, App Events API or a Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) are offered instructions on how to best prepare for the update. Facebook recommends updating Facebook SDK for iOS to version 8.1 or above to create iOS14 app install campaigns. Additionally, measurement and optimisation configurations are strongly recommended for Apple’s SKAdNetwork in Events Manager.

Stay Updated on New Changes

Facebook is constantly providing new updates on this unprecedented change. It is already rolling out some new tools to help prepare advertisers for the forthcoming mandatory iOS 14 update, including the new addition of Aggregated Event Management. Be sure to continuously check their News for Developers blog for detailed instructions and analysis of changes to the ads platform.

We’ve also provided some additional resources so our fellow Facebook advertisers can best equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to be proactive for iOS14. If you need any assistance navigating this new advertising environment, please reach out to our team.

Preparing our partners for iOS14

How Apple’s iOS14 release may affect your ads

Speaking Up for Small Businesses