Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency four years ago: Here’s how it’s going

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With the launch of iOS 14, Apple introduced a bold new privacy feature: App Tracking Transparency. This new feature would require third party apps to ask for user permission to track across apps before they’d gain access to your advertising ID (IDFA).

Apple begun enforcing this in April 2021 with the launch of iOS 14.5, which is when non-complying apps would no longer be able to submit updates to the App Store.

Cross-App Tracking is down dramatically

In the United States, tracking rates have decreased by nearly 55% since the launch of App Tracking Transparency, according to a research paper conducted by professors and researchers based in Frankfurt.

Per their research, 72.63% of Apple users in the United States were trackable by advertisers prior to the launch of App Tracking Transparency. Now, that number is just 17.9%. This is largely because of the fact that apps have to partake in this, but also users have the ability to opt out at a system level, and don’t necessarily have to deal with the in-app popup in every app.

This drop in trackable users has had rippling effects. Advertisers have to pay a lot more to target that smaller group of users, but it’s also led to a drop in overall IDFA-based advertising spending, since it’s no longer as viable as it used to be. This has led to companies like Meta facing immediate revenue drops.

Advertisers have found workarounds

While less effective, advertisers have found new way of tracking individual users without the use of an advertising ID.

By utilizing device fingerprinting, which tracks details like screen size, OS version, timezone, installed, and much more – advertisers are still able to have a pretty good idea who you are, even without a specific ID.

In a similar vein, apps have also switched to more contextual advertising. Some advertisers are now taking note of what you’re actually doing in an app rather than utilizing cross app activity, which in turn still allows for targeted advertising, just at a lower scale.

Apps are also relying on first-party data, such as newsletters, to advertise to their known user base, rather than using targeted ads.

More expensive in-app purchases

According to another report, App Tracking Transparency has resulted in an increase in In-App Purchase pricing overall, due to a large dip in advertising effectiveness. Since it’s so much harder to target the right users, app developers need to make more money off of each paying user they currently have.

The report claims that single-purchase In-App Purchases rose around 36% year over year from 2021 to 2022, whereas subscriptions rose around 19% year over year.

Apple has also been fined for its App Tracking Transparency implementation, after a group of advertisers in France sued the company for abusing its power.

Wrap up

Overall, App Tracking Transparency might not be the end all be all of ending cross-app tracking. However, it certainly stopped a lot of it, and it’s definitely had a number of rippling effects across the tech industry.

It’s estimated that App Tracking Transparency cost Meta $12.8 billion in 2022. Since then, Meta has shifted its business model a fair bit, focusing a lot more on consumer hardware and AI – with launches like Meta Ray-Ban’s, an even deeper investment in the Meta Quest ecosystem, and integration of its Llama AI models across apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

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My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:

• Anker MagSafe 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand with Qi2
• MOFT Magnetic Wallet Stand, fits up to 3 cards
• Logitech Brio 100 1080p Webcam for Mac
• AirTag 4-pack (on sale for 20% off!)
• SanDisk Extreme 2TB USB-C SSD, up to 1050MB/s
• Aulumu Vegan Leather Case for iPhone 16 Pro

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