Apple’s user-privacy strategy lifts Android ad spending

New data suggests Apple’s new app tracking transparency (ATT) policy of allowing iOS users to opt out of allowing apps to track them across the internet is driving ad dollars the way of Android.

Apple’s recent iOS update, 14.5, allows users to choose to block an app using an IDFA – an identifier for advertisers – and the latest evidence suggests most users are taking up the offer.  Now, the Post-IDFA Alliance of mobile marketing companies – Liftoff, AdColony, Fyber, Chartboost, InMobi, Vungle and Singular – has released new figures detailing the scale of the shift.

Why it matters

iOS dominates in affluent markets like the US, in which users spend more on apps and in-app, leaving marketers and game producers concerned about their ability to reach high-value users via ads.

The details

• The numbers suggest between 63.5% and 83.2% of users are opting not to be tracked – a lower proportion than many in the industry had feared. 
• Earlier data found that just 11% of iOS users had allowed ad tracking, with that figure dropping to only 4% in the US.
• All Alliance members say they saw an uplift in ad spending in the 14 days following the iOS update, especially on Android – this ranged from ranging from 8.29% reported by Liftoff, to 21% reported by Vungle. 
• While there was some slippage in ad spending on iOS, Alliance members reported this was modest, with declines ranging from 2.51% to 3.59%. Taken together with the rise in spending on Android, the numbers suggest an overall rise in ad spending.

Key quote

“If you are an app with a brand, you’ll find that people trust you and will opt-in at a much higher rate than with a little-known app. We’ll see this evolve as more people adopt iOS 14.5” – Dennis Mink, senior vice president of marketing at Liftoff.

Sourced from VentureBeat, WARC