iOS 14 Apps Notify Users That Tracking Helps Keep Facebook and Instagram Free of Charge

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 02 May 2021, 01:05 pm

Facebook is continuing it campaign against the privacy updates of Apple's iOS 14, adding a notice within its iOS app telling users that the information it collects from other apps and websites can help keep Facebook free of charge.

A similar message was seen on Instagram's iOS app.

Technology researcher Ashkan Soltani first noted the new pop-up notices on May 1 on Twitter. They appear as part of an explanation of the updates to iOS 14 rules.

Apple iOS 14 Tracking

The pop-up screen reads that this particular version of iOS requires them to ask users for permission to track some data from the device to improve ads.

The version iOS 14 also offers users to learn how they limit the use of this information if users don't turn on the device setting.

The pop-up screen further adds that they use information about the user's activity received from other apps and websites to show users ads that are more personalized. It can help keep Facebook and Instagram free of charge, and it can help support businesses that rely on ads to reach their customers.

Also Read: Apple and Facebook Fight Over User Privacy as Apple Introduces New App Tracking Transparency

The new opt-in requirements in the latest versions of iOS 14, including iOS 14.5, require developers to get express consent from device owners to allow their Identifier for Advertisers or IDFA to be shared and collected across apps.

Under Apple's new policy, app developers can still use other information that a user provides for targeted advertising, even if the user opts out of letting the app track them, but that information can't be shared with another company for ad tracking.

If developers try to get around the opt-in requirement, or try to replace the IDFA with another piece of identifying information such as an email address, that app will be considered in violation of the opt-in requirement.

The rules also apply the the apps that Apple owns.

Facebook has been very vocal about their stance on Apple's iOS 14 privacy updates, arguing that the privacy changes could hurt small businesses, which may rely on Facebook's ad network to reach customers.

In statements released to the press and in newspaper ads, Facebook has said that Apple is encouraging new business models for apps, so they rely less on advertising and more on subscriptions, which would give Apple a certain cut.

However the "keep Facebook/Instagram free" tactic seems to run counter to Facebook's long-standing tagline, which indicated the company was free and always will be, as per Business Insider.

Facebook and Apple's Competition

Facebook quietly removed the slogan from its homepage in 2019, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not rule out a paid version of Facebook when he testified in 2018 before Congress.

Facebook did not reply to a request for comment from The Verge. But Zuckerberg called Apple out during the earnings call of the social media giant back in January.

Zuckerberg called Apple as one of the biggest competitors of Facebook. He said that Apple has every incentive to use their dominant platform position to interfere with how Facebook works and how other apps work, which they regularly do to preference their own.

The CEO further added that Apple's style impacts the growth of millions of businesses around the world, including with the iOS 14 changes.