Facebook will begin prompting users of its app on iPhone and iPad to allow ad tracking to prepare for the upcoming iOS privacy changes, according to reports.
The social media major will show a prompt to iPhone and iPad users to opt-in and allow tracking for more personalised ads, CNBC reported.
The move is in preparation of Apple’s upcoming privacy feature for iOS 14 that will require users to opt in to allow apps to track their activity. This change will be rolled out in the coming months. It will allow users to opt-out of letting apps collect a code called Identifier for Advertisers, or IDFA code, which helps companies track a user across websites and apps to measure the effectiveness of digital ads, the Verge reported.
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“With Apple’s next beta update, App Tracking Transparency will require apps to get the user’s permission before tracking their data across apps or websites owned by other companies,” Apple had said in an official press release.
The changes have been criticised by Facebook on multiple occasions stating that the feature will harm advertisers with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook trading barbs over the same.
“With the upcoming iOS14 changes, many small businesses will no longer be able to reach their customers with targeted ads,” Zuckerberg had told investors at earnings call last month.
Facebook is testing the effects of the Apple update. It will explain the reasons for tracking user activity asking users to opt-in as part of the prompt which will appear on Apple users’ screens right before the Apple pop-up appears, according to the CNBC report.