Apple made its presence felt last year when it rolled out a privacy feature for iPhone users that gave them the option to prevent apps from tracking them.

Users eventually opt out of a tool that allows them to choose whether or not to be tracked. The feature especially hurts platforms like Meta, which have built revenue streams from large ad businesses.

Meta’s outlook is particularly bleak, according to the company. Since iPhone users can opt out of being tracked, ad revenue is estimated to take a $10 billion hit in 2022. This prevents companies from collecting data that can be shared with advertisers to deliver personalized ads. The market reacted violently, with other social media platforms including Twitter and Snap feeling the impact.

The latest earnings figures for 2021 and Meta’s ad revenue show an upward trend. The rapidly declining “other income”. Additionally, daily active users declined for the first time in the company’s 18-year history. Rival platforms like TikTok and Snap are gaining more users than ever, further hurting Meta’s two most important social media apps, Facebook and Instagram.

Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature is rolling out to iPhone users in April 2021 as part of the iOS 14.5 update. It works with any app installed on the iPhone. Users are prompted with questions asking them to allow specific apps to track activity on other companies’ apps and websites. Users can choose to “Ask apps not to track” or “Allow.”

Permission is required for any app on your phone that seeks to track usage and collect data about users’ searches, browsing or reading. The user can choose to allow or deny. This effectively ends the freewheeling of apps and web platforms to collect data without permission and at least serve targeted ads to iPhone users.

Meta’s latest revenue data, now with a new structure, splits revenue from app families (FOA, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp) and Reality Labs. Among them, there are advertising revenue and other revenue.

Meta reported fourth-quarter 2021 revenue of $33.67 billion, up 20% from the same period in 2020 ($28.07 billion). Revenue in 2021 was $117.92 billion, up 37% from 2020 ($85.96 billion). Among them, full-year advertising-specific revenue was $114.93 billion, up from $84.16 billion in 2020.

The quarterly trajectory of ad revenue in 2021 shows an overall upward trend, with the exception of a plateau. Meta’s ad revenue was $25.43 billion in the quarter ended March. In April, Apple’s ATT privacy feature rolled out to iPhone users.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times