IDFA Opt-in, How iOS 14 Changes Mobile Marketing for App-first Brands ?
Mobile app advertising is a huge market. It was almost $80B in 2019 and it’s expected to grow to $120B by 2022. The shark’s share of the market was held by the advertisers of iOS apps. However, with the changes to IDFA accessibility announced during Apple’s annual WWDC conference, the online advertising industry might experience a significant setback.
But, what exactly is IDFA?
IDFA short for “Identity for Advertisers”, is a random identifier used by Apple that allows mobile advertising networks to track users and serve them targeted ads. It is also used to attribute app installs to advertising campaigns.
For example, Facebook saves the IDFA of the user’s device when they see your app’s ad on Instagram. Once the user installs and launches your app, the Facebook SDK in the app saves the IDFA of the device again and sends it to Facebook servers, where it is matched against the IDFA previously saved from the Instagram ad. This is exactly how Facebook Ads get data on how many installs and valuable in-app events occurred for a given ad set and an ad creative.
IDFA is important to mobile marketers for two main reasons:
- IDFA is one of the most accurate means of measuring your users’ interactions with advertisements and the apps on iOS
- It offers a high level of privacy that totally emphasizes a user’s choice.
Although the IDFA is unique to each iOS device, iOS users have the ability to reset their IDFA as well as control settings which grant more or less access to advertisers.
Bidding Goodbye to Default IDFA
Apple has now killed IDFA with the new iOS 14 sending the $80 billion ad industry into upheaval. IDFA will no longer be available to any mobile measuring platform. So you’ll now need your user’s explicit permission to track them or access their iPhone’s Identifier For Advertisers (IDFA). If you want to link the user data or device data collected within your app to that from other companies’ apps/websites, or to share data with 3rd party attribution partners, you will need to request permission through the new AppTrackingTransparency Framework.
AppTrackingTransparency Framework iOS 14
From now on, you’ll need to include a purpose string in the system prompt that explains why you want to track that user.
This approach is completely different compared to the current one. Users do not need to give their consent for IDFA tracking in iOS 13. They can switch off IDFA tracking in their privacy settings («Reset Advertising ID» toggle in Settings > Privacy > Advertising). According to AppsFlyer, only 15% of users manually switch off IDFA tracking on their iPhones.
Opt-in rates for these IDFA prompts are likely to be low for every app in the new iOS 14, so reviewing your dependency on IDFA for user identification, activity tracking, and app install attribution will help in tackling the impact.
Of course, Apple has offered a potential solution to tackle this problem. Apple recommends using its proprietary SKAdNetwork for mobile attribution and is set to develop and update it. Here’s a diagrammatic representation of how the ad network works. It allows attributing both app installs and in-app events without identifying the user’s device making it a more privacy-driven solution.
Greater User Control Over Data Sharing
Apple is giving users greater visibility and control over exactly what kind of information apps have access to. Users will be shown a screen to see what data is linked to the app and which data is used to track them, such as their location.
Users can choose to grant your app access to their location with a proxy instead of their precise location. iOS 14 will display an on-screen indicator on the users’ device whenever your app is accessing the microphone or camera.
Wrapping it up !
We’re Super Hyped About iOS14 and Its New Features.
Apple’s iOS 14 updates and announcements have put users in control of both their personal data and their app experience. Beyond the impact of IDFA, understanding users within the context of your app is going to be more important than ever for growing your mobile business.
In order to understand your users, you’ll need to deliver a seamless user experience at every moment in your app that focuses on satisfying their immediate needs. You need to invest in some of the new iOS capabilities announced and introspect on how to make the most of App Search, App Clips, and more.
It’s necessary that you have the right tools to analyze and engage users in order to deliver consistent value and establish a firm position on your user’s device. We believe that iOS 14 will be a positive sprint for the industry.
