Facebook Takes Shot At Apple Over New Privacy Features, But It Might Be Good News For Users

Personalized ads online might strike many consumers as intrusive and creepy, but they form a major portion of business for platforms like Facebook. However, upcoming changes to Apple’s iOS operating system for iPhone might make this sort of targeted advertising tougher for Facebook, and the social network is not taking the news lying down.

Mentioned in a note to developers Wednesday, Facebook said that the changes coming in iOS14 will hamper its Audience Network, a system that connects Facebook accounts to other online activity, allowing advertisements from Facebook and Instagram to follow users to other websites.

Audience Network is more ubiquitous than it may seem. For example, when a Facebook user posts in frustration about a clunker of a vacuum cleaner that user can soon be overwhelmed by vacuum advertisements.

Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS14 is making a big push for privacy. Recently sent into beta this week, the update will require apps that collect ad data from users to ask for permission to do so explicitly, giving privacy-conscious users a helpful option.

Facebook has countered that this practice will hurt businesses that rely on its targeted advertising to drive business.

“Our ability to deliver targeted ads on iOS14 will be limited,” the company explained. “As a result, some iOS14 users may not see any ads from Audience Network, while others may still see ads from us, but they’ll be less relevant.”

The situation boils down to the fundamental difference in philosophy between these two tech behemoths. Whether or not one actually trusts a company like Apple to handle their information safely, it still makes privacy a major part of its promise to users. Facebook, meanwhile, uses vast data harvesting and sharing to drive its massive advertising business. In a way, this tension seems like it was inevitable.

Apple’s iOS14 is set to launch for the general public sometime in the fall, presumably following the launch of the much-rumored iPhone 12.