Back in April 2021, Apple rolled out iOS 14.5 which included the ability for users to opt out of being tracked as they cycled through the apps on their smartphone.
This update meant that Meta had to essentially beg users not to opt out of tracking. The firm began pushing educational cards out to users on iOS explaining that the ability to keep tracking everything they do online is why Facebook, Instagram and the like are free.
It was an underhanded move that failed to address how much data Facebook scoops from users and it didn’t work.
During its earnings call this week, chief financial officer at Meta, Dave Wehner, explains that the firm saw its revenue impacted in Q4 because of the changes to iOS. This impact was expected says Wehner but what wasn’t was the impact the OS would have on this year’s financials.
“We believe the impact of iOS overall as a headwind on our business in 2022 is on the order of $10 billion, so it’s a pretty significant headwind for our business. And we’re seeing that impact in a number of verticals,” explained Wehner.
That is a lot of cheddar anyway you slice it and the problem will likely only get worse.
We say this because Meta chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, is still of the opinion that users are willing to hand him and his ilk troves of data in return for, erm, targeted advertising.
“With Apple’s iOS changes and new regulation in Europe, there’s a clear trend where less data is available to deliver personalized ads. But people still want to see relevant ads, and businesses still want to reach the right customers. So we’re rebuilding a lot of our ads infrastructure so we can continue to grow and deliver high-quality personalized ads,” said Zuckerberg.
What neither Wehner nor Zuckerberg address is the fact that with users opting out of tracking, perhaps it’s only Meta who believes users wants to be tracked so that advertisers can target advertising more effectively.
Meta’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, did state that the iOS changes had an impact on businesses of all sizes but especially smaller businesses that rely on digital advertising. How big this impact is isn’t exactly clear though.
It’s clear that Meta has to change how it earns its money because the way it’s been serving advertising in the past no longer sits well with users.
A lack of growth also isn’t good news which all means that 2022 is likely to be a tough year for Meta.
[Source – Meta]
